MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2020) The Executive Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reinstating the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) after temporary estrangement in 2018 was shocking to many athletes, but proved to be the right decision, WADA President Witold Banka said on Saturday.
"It is true," Banka told the Polish Press Agency in response to an interview question stating that RUSADA's reinstatement "caused a shock to many athletes." "However, time has shown that it was the right decision. Thanks to the decision, it was finally possible to obtain samples and data from the Moscow anti-doping laboratory," the WADA chief added.
According to Banka, receiving samples from Moscow labs made it possible for the agency to already detect prohibited substances in more than 50 athletes, likely to lead to their disqualification. Additionally, if it were not for the RUSADA reinstatement decision, the non-compliance cases into the Russian anti-doping agency would not have been launched at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, the official added.
"As you can see, it was a difficult decision, maybe controversial at the time, but good. However, there was not enough explanation on what it could bring," Banka said.
Russia's athletics federation had been suspended from competitions for large-scale doping abuse since late 2015. It was temporarily reinstated in September of 2018 on the condition that it discloses all data from its Moscow anti-doping laboratories.
Last September, WADA launched another non-compliance procedure against Russia, claiming that the probes received from Moscow were manipulated before being submitted. In December, the WADA Executive Committee banned RUSADA from participating in major sports events, including the Olympic and Paralympic games, for four years. After Russia objected the ban, the WADA Executive Committee lodged a case with the CAS, due to be reviewed from November 2-5.
