Russian doping scandal: Vladimir Putin's spokesman dismisses whistleblower's allegations as 'a turncoat's libel'

Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory, claims to have been involved in state-sponsored doping at the Sochi Winter Olympics

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov (Getty)

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has dismissed allegations of Russian state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as “a turncoat’s libel.”

Dmitry Peskov attacked Grigory Rodchenkov, who claims to have been involved in the tampering of Russian medal winners’ urine samples under the cover of night.

Putin’s spokesman went on to say he "wouldn't put trust in such unfounded claims", which were published in The New York Times.

No Russian athletes were caught doping during the Sochi Games and the country topped the final medals table with a total of 33, five more than the second-placed United States.

Two athletes to be named in the report, bobsledder Alexander Zubkov and cross-country skier Alexander Legkov, have both denied involvement in the programme.

Zubkov described the allegations as “baseless libel”, adding: "I'm a person who has worked for many years in sport, competed at the Olympics, and I know how much responsibility each athlete bears when they compete at such a high level."