Copyright – 2018 – Athletics Illustrated
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) turned a lot of heads in the sporting world when they announced that they would soften two requirements for Russia to gain acceptance into the worldwide sporting community. WADA said that they are ready to lift the ban on Russia, should they get permission to visit the Moscow Laboratory that is at the centre of the systematic doping controversy.
Russia waited until the five-member team arrived in Moscow before changing their mind and decided to not permit them into the lab.
Dr. José Antonio Pascual arrived on Monday, Dec. 17 but returned home without having retrieved any of the data in the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) it had been promised to have access to.
Well isn’t this a shocker.
Having access to the data on Russian athletes between 2011 and 2015 by Dec. 31 was a key condition of WADA’s controversial decision in Sept. to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
Russian authorities came up with a bogus claim about the testing equipment was not certified to be used in the Moscow lab.
Pascual will prepare a report on the trip to Russia and it will be sent to the WADA independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC).
They are due to meet on January 14 and 15 when RUSADA’s Code compliance status will again be considered and the CRC’s recommendation will then be considered by the WADA Executive Committee.
WADA claimed their team was ready to return to Moscow “should the matter be resolved by Russia expeditiously”
