With news about the World Anti-Doping Agency coming out that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was being reinstated after a three-year suspension, many athletes were not too happy with the decision. Swimming superstars like Lilly King, Adam Peaty and Katie Ledecky shared their thoughts on social media while many others vented their dissatisfaction.
RUSADA was reinstated amid strict conditions put in place by the WADA Executive Committee:
- Russia must ensure the data of the former Moscow Laboratory is handed over to WADA by no later than December 31, 2018.
- WADA has also demanded that they be given the chance to re-analyze “any samples as required by WADA” no later than June 30, 2019.
In addition to these strict requirements, RUSADA must undergo a successful inspection carried out within four months to ensure RUSADA continues to meet compliance standards.
“There’s a lot of work ahead. There are conditions…in order to definitively be reinstated we need to meet these conditions. So it’s a conditional reinstatement,” Yuri Ganus, head of RUSADA told Reuters.
https://twitter.com/awil5504/status/1042800156134006785
Amidst all the negativity, the International Paralympic Committee reacted positively to the reinstatement. The full statement from IPC president, Andrew Parsons can be read here.
“Since the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) was suspended in August 2016, Russia has not been allowed to compete in two Paralympic Games and several World and European Championships, covering some of the biggest sports in the Paralympic Movement.
During this time however, they have made significant progress and we are confident that the anti-doping system now in place in Russia is very different from the corrupted system that existed and polluted international sport.
Russian Para athletes are now amongst the most tested and scrutinized athletes in the world and, following WADA’s decision, this scrutiny will only increase further.”
Kate Ingamells
Yep
That’s something
This decision is so disappointing… ?