Anti-doping authorities report problems with Russian drug testing
The World Anti-Doping Agency has issued a troubling update on drug testing in Russia during the months when that nation was hit by a series of cheating scandals.
The report encompasses 2,947 tests conducted from mid-November through May, with what officials characterized as a “significant amount” of athletes who skipped or could not be located for testing.
The timing is especially bad for the banned Russian track team, which is seeking reinstatement for the 2016 Summer Olympics at an international track federation meeting Friday.
There were a reported 52 adverse analytical findings in the country over a six-month period, 49 of them for meldonium, a heart medication recently added to the banned list. Tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive for that substance.
In many instances, WADA stated, Russian athletes evaded tests or withdrew from competitions when testers showed up.
One athlete was seen running from the stadium immediately after competing. Another was caught using a hidden container that authorities believe held clean urine. When the substitute urine leaked to the floor, she allegedly tried to bribe the tester.
The athlete ultimately tested positive, WADA reported.
More than a dozen members of the Russian race walking team failed to start a national championship event in February, officials noted. The entire men’s under-18 hockey team was replaced by the under-17 roster just before the world championships.
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At the time, media reports alleged that players on the older team were using meldonium.
In a passage that appears to support allegations of systemic cheating, testers said they felt intimidated entering military areas where some athletes train and that armed government agents threatened them with expulsion from the country.
The Russian track federation was banned from international competition last year after WADA presented evidence of systemic doping. Subsequent media reports have alleged cheating in other Russian sports.
As part of widespread reforms, Russian officials have allowed WADA observers and British anti-doping workers to be involved in much of the testing in their country.
ALSO
‘Clean Russian athletes’ appeal to IOC ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics
International track officials suspended in Russian doping scandal
Maria Sharapova appeals two-year ban for doping
Russian officials brace for new doping allegations in documentary
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