Montreal: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been given the green light to lift its ban on Russia’s drug-tainted testing authority after a recommendation from investigators, the global doping watchdog said.
A WADA statement said its independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) had recommended that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) be reinstated when the agency’s executive committee meets in the Seychelles September 20.
The move came as a surprise after Britain’s BBC published a letter a day earlier from WADA’s compliance committee which recommended the ban to be in its place.
However, the decision will be a huge relief for the Russian athletes who now can dream once more to make a full return to competition under the country’s flag.
“This letter sufficiently acknowledged the issues identified in Russia, therefore fulfilling the first of the two outstanding criteria of RUSADA’s Roadmap to Compliance,” the WADA statement further added.
It also informed that Russia has agreed to provide access to data and samples in its Moscow laboratory to WADA via an independent expert.
Meanwhile, if RUSADA’s reinstatement is approved as expected next week, it could have far-reaching implications across the sports world.
Most significantly, it removes a key obstacle to lifting the suspension of Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), track and field’s global governing body.
The IAAF has said that Russia must fulfill three criteria to be readmitted; the reinstatement of RUSADA, provide access to doping records at the agency’s Moscow laboratory from 2011-2015, and payment of costs incurred by the IAAF in the wake of the scandal.
RUSADA was suspended in 2015 after a WADA report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren accused the Russian authorities of running an elaborate doping programme with the full support of the Russian Ministry of Sport and the Russian secret service or FSB.
Through the Russian officials had previously concluded that their doping system failed, they clearly dismissed claims of institutional involvement.
However, the decision to reinstate RUSADA has raised quite a few questions around the world.
“WADA should stop the sleight of hand and release the new Compliance Review Committee recommendation as well as any information received from Russia now showing they are compliant,” United States Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart said in a statement.
The UK Anti-Doping Athlete Commission said in a letter to WADA chief Craig Reedie that Russian readmission would be a ‘a catastrophe for clean sport.’
Patrick Baumann, a prominent member of the International Olympic Committee, questioned whether Russia should be suspended indefinitely.
“We don’t challenge the road map, we simply question for how long we want to follow that road map – for the next 10 years, 20 years, 30 years?” Baumann said.
- WADA to reinstate RUSADA following recommendation from investigators
- Russia has agreed to provide access to data and samples in its Moscow laboratory via an independent expert
- The issues identified in the WADA report said it has fulfilled two outstanding criteria of RUSADA’s Roadmap to Compliance