In the wake of the scathing report by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Independent Commission that revealed massive cover-ups in Russian’s track and field federation as well as its doping agency, FINA has announced that the drug samples collected at this year’s world championships will be moved from their present home at the controversial Moscow laboratory to a facility in Barcelona.
The Independent Commission’s report claimed that the Moscow Anti-Doping Center was at the heart of the Russian doping scandal, where director Grigory Rodchenkov destroyed doping samples and accepted bribes to hide positive drug tests. That center was where the 645 samples from the FINA world championships were analyzed, according to FINA, though the samples have not been compromised. FINA announced today that all 645 samples will be moved to a WADA-certified laboratory in Barcelona.
Though no positive drug tests came from the world championships, samples must remain intact in the event that they are needed for future analysis. FINA also said that all drug samples collected in out-of-competition visits and stored in the Moscow laboratory will also be removed.
“Of course this is a difficult time for sport, and as sports people we at FINA are shocked and saddened by WADA’s Independent Commission report,” said FINA President Julio Maglione. “FINA upholds a strong and unequivocal stance on the practice of doping as we aim to eradicate doping from Aquatics. FINA is committed to do everything necessary to become the world’s cleanest sport.”
More from the FINA announcement:
Moreover, all of FINA’s unannounced out-of-competition doping control programme in Russia is conducted by IDTM, an independent Swedish company. In the 2014 season the majority of out-of-competition doping control tests had been analysed by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow, which had been judged fully compliant with the WADA code at the time. However, following the announcement of the official investigation, FINA made the decision to move the overwhelming majority of the analysis of Russian athletes’ samples out of Russia. In 2015, over 80% of the samples collected in Russia were analysed in the WADA-accredited laboratories in Barcelona (ESP) and Köln (GER). The samples of Russian athletes living or training outside Europe were analysed in the WADA-accredited laboratories in Montreal (CAN) and Salt Lake City (USA).
Not surprised of this move
Are there any left?
I have always been distrustful of every Russian athlete.
Since the 70s, and I wondered why right.