(ATR) WADA says it is "dismayed" after watching a documentary by German broadcaster ARD alleging that Russia is continuing to breach the IAAF and WADA’s anti-doping rules despite its global suspension.
"At a time when trust in sport is wafer thin, these troubling assertions will do little to reinforce confidence in the Russian anti-doping system when clean athletes need it most," WADA President Craig Reedie said in a statement on Monday March 7.
"The allegations suggest that there is still much, much work to be done in Russia; and, that we will need the full and unwavering cooperation of the Russian authorities to reverse the damage," he continued. "Until this happens, clean athletes won’t be able to trust that there is a level playing field."
In the channel’s third documentary about Russian doping, aired Sunday night, the investigative team led by award-winning author Hajo Seppelt presented examples in audio and video of how Russia is allegedly flouting regulations. ARD says coaches banned following WADA’s November report that revealed state-sponsored doping "continue to coach deep in the Russian provinces as if nothing had happened".
"Other coaches are still active drug dealers. According to documents in the possession of ARD/WDR, a newly-elected leader of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA, had in the past informed athletes about dates for doping tests, as the documents seen by the ARD/WDR Doping research team prove."
WADA says it will verify these allegations and in particular, seek confirmation as to when the evidence was collected.
"These allegations are already in the hands of the IAAF Taskforce, which is the relevant athletics body; as well as, the authorities within Russia. I have no doubt that they will look at these matters without delay and draw the appropriate conclusions," Reedie said.
The fresh allegations come just four days before Rune Andersen, chair of the IAAF task force on Russian doping, makes his first report to the IAAF Council at a meeting in Monaco.
The task force is responsible for reviewing anti-doping reforms being implemented by the Russian Athletics Federation ahead of a decision on whether to lift the country’s suspension and allow its athletes to compete at Rio 2016. ATR is told that the final decision is unlikely for some time as Russia scrambles to achieve compliance with IAAF and WADA rules. Andersen may set a new timetable for Russia on Friday.
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko hit back at the accusations in comments to Reuters. "These facts have once again been taken out of context and are an attempt to mislead the public," he was quoted as saying.
"We have a huge country, with 83 regions. It is possible that a banned coach could be working somewhere, but certainly not with the national team and not at official events."
In comments to the TASS news agency, Mutko said: "The thought occurs that this is an attempt to influence the organizations which are to take major decisions."
Written by Mark BissonandGerard Farek
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