Victoria (Seychelles): The world anti-doping agency (WADA) has lifted a ban on Russia’s anti-doping agency and in the process has paved the way for Russian athletes to return to competition but also sparked claims of ‘treachery’ and ‘dark shadows’ cast over the fight against drugs in sport.
“Today, the great majority of WADA’s executive committee decided to reinstate RUSADA as compliant with the world anti-doping code subject to strict conditions,” WADA president Craig Reedie said Thursday.
Reedie said the decision ‘provides a clear timeline by which WADA must be given access to the former Moscow laboratory data and samples’. He said if the commitment was not met, WADA would reinstate the ban on the Russian anti-doping agency.
The Russian government applauded the decision to lift RUSADA’s three-year suspension and said it was the result of ‘enormous work’ by Russian authorities to improve their procedures.
“We welcome WADA’s decision,” Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. “Russia confirms its adherence to the principles of clean sports competition,” she said.
She also said those measures included criminal prosecution for those who force someone to take banned substances.
However, condemnation of the decision was swift and brutal. Linda Helleland, vice-president of WADA, said the decision to lift the ban ‘casts a dark shadow over the credibility of the anti-doping movement’.
“I am disappointed on behalf of clean athletes and everyone who believes in clean sport,” wrote Helleland, a Norwegian, who was one of only two WADA executive committee members to vote against.
“Today (Thursday) we made the wrong decision in protecting the integrity of sport and to maintain public trust. Today we failed clean athletes of the world,” wrote Helleland.
The US anti-doping body USADA called the decision to reinstate the Russian anti-doping body ‘a devastating blow to the world’s clean athletes’.
“In its landmark meeting, WADA sent one clear message to the world: we put the wishes of a small handful of sports administrators above the rights of millions of clean athletes and the dreams of billions of sports fans,” USADA CEO Travis T Tygart said in a statement.
WADA suspended RUSADA in November 2015 after declaring it to be non-compliant following revelations of a vast Russian-backed scheme to avoid drug testers. The ban was followed by the IAAF implementing similar strictures. The IAAF, however, said it would follow its own rules in lifting the ban.
“The setting of our own criteria and the process of evaluating progress against these criteria has served athletics well over the last three years so we will continue to rely on the taskforce and our clear roadmap for RusAF (Russian athletics federation) reinstatement until we are satisfied that the conditions have been met,” said IAAF chief Sebastian Coe.