Russia facing potential Olympic ban after WADA cites ‘inconsistent’ data

Russia is once again in danger of being banned from next year’s Olympics after the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed that historical data supplied by the country’s anti-doping authority contained “inconsistencies,” reports Reuters/NAN.

WADA said yesterday it had opened compliance proceedings against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) after examining the vast bank of historical testing data finally handed over in January.

The news means RUSADA is in danger of being declared non-compliant by WADA a year after a suspension was lifted.

A development that could put increased pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russia from the Tokyo Games next year for failing to ensure that its athletes are clean.

The WADA Executive Committee received a report from its Compliance Review Committee yesterday updating it on the analysis of data from the Moscow laboratory, which contained the results of thousands of anti-doping tests undergone by Russian sportsmen and women.

“The ExCO was informed that further investigation… of inconsistencies in Moscow Laboratory data had led WADA to open a formal compliance procedure against RUSADA on 17 September 2019,” WADA said in statement.

Jonathan Taylor, chair of WADA’s Compliance Review Committee, presented the information to the executive committee in Tokyo yesterday.

It also said that 47 potential rule violation cases that had been highlighted and were being acted on were not affected by the inconsistencies.

Alexander Ivlev, chairman of RUSADA’s supervisory board, told Interfax news agency: “WADA has given the Russian side three weeks to give explanations regarding the alleged changes in the database from the Moscow laboratory. Such an answer will be presented.”