Just before IOC's announcement, she posted on twitter that she hopes that all Russian athletes will be banned.
This is putting words in her mouth. She said:
"Thank you @deidrardionne for these words!! We all want a clean and fair playing field. I live my life everyday with integrity, something I was inspired to do from the Olympic movement. Olympic values should be upheld and respected by the IOC as well."
She said this in response to an article which said: "If you don't take a stand against the entire Russian system, you'll be setting the wrong kind of global precedent. You'll be solidifying the belief that the only risk in running a dirty system is the potential consequences that will fall on individual athletes. That doesn't sound very athlete-centred to me."
I don't disagree with that statement, and apparently neither does Duhamel. For her to say "Thank you for these words" isn't saying she thinks all Russian athletes, including clean ones, should be banned. She's saying - to use her words - she wants a clean and fair playing field. She supports clean Russians, too.
By holding Russia to task, this is what this decision will (hopefully) do.
Another excerpt from the article:
"That idea of a missed opportunity is something Christine Girard told me is the most difficult part of not being awarded an Olympic medal when she should have. Christine is a Canadian weightlifter who finished fourth in 2008 and third in 2012, only to have both finishes upgraded years later — to a bronze and a gold, respectively — after her opponents were caught doping. Christine told me that everyone asks her about being robbed of the chance to receive a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. But she says the tougher pill for her to swallow is missing out on standing on the podium at the 2008 Games because of all the additional support she would have received as an Olympic medallist.
I'm sharing these stories with you because I love Olympic sport and I want you to uphold its values. To me, that means standing up to the Russian sport system and holding it accountable for its actions — just like athletes are."
The point is, Russia continually involves itself in doping in various sports and someone needs to give them a wakeup call. It's sad that this comes at the expense of clean athletes, but the alternative is that Russia continues doing its business and stealing medals from clean athletes, because doping is so ingrained in its commitment to sporting excellence.
