WADA CRC Says Has Names Of All Suspicious Athletes In Moscow Laboratory Database

WADA CRC Says Has Names of All Suspicious Athletes in Moscow Laboratory Database

The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Compliance Review Committee (CRC) now has names of all suspicious athletes in the Moscow Laboratory database, which is said to be manipulated before being handed over to the agency's investigators in January 2019, Jonathan Taylor, the WADA CRC chair, said on Monday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2019) The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Compliance Review Committee (CRC) now has Names of all suspicious athletes in the Moscow Laboratory database, which is said to be manipulated before being handed over to the agency's investigators in January 2019, Jonathan Taylor, the WADA CRC chair, said on Monday.

Earlier today, the WADA Executive Committee endorsed a recommendation by its Compliance Review Committee to ban Russia from hosting and competing in major international sporting events for the next four years.

"WADA now has the names of all suspicious athletes in the LIMS [Laboratory Information Management System] database, and thanks to the painstakingly forensic nature of the investigation, this includes the athletes whose data was manipulated or even deleted, including the 145 athletes within WADA's target group of most suspicious athletes but also others beyond that target group," Taylor said, as quoted in the agency's press release.

The official added that while he understand the WADA Athletes Committee's calls for a blanket ban on all Russian athletes, the CRC unanimously agreed that "those who could prove their innocence should not be punished," noting that he was pleased that the WADA Executive Committee had agreed with this.

"While being tough on the authorities, this recommendation avoids punishing the innocent and instead stands up for the rights of clean athletes everywhere. If an athlete from Russia can prove that they were not involved in the institutionalized doping program, that their data were not part of the manipulation, that they were subject to adequate testing prior to the event in question, and that they fulfil any other strict conditions to be determined, they will be allowed to compete," Taylor said.