Wada could lift Russia suspension

Montreal: World Anti-Doping Agency president Craig Reedie said on Thursday the body could lift its suspension of Russia’s drug-testing authority later this year after nearly two years on the blacklist. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has been suspended since 2015 in the wake of the report by Richard McLaren which uncovered widespread doping in Russian sport.

Reedie however said RUSADA had taken concrete steps to clean up its image and could resume testing next month based on compliance criteria requested by WADA. “There is a huge amount of work being done,” Reedie told a press conference following WADA’s Foundation Board meeting. “The board decided if we receive, and I’m sure we will, the necessary information... that the Russian anti-doping agency would be able to resume its testing program,” Reedie added.

“What has been done at this stage is really important and I am grateful to the Foundation Board for providing, subject to Russia’s roadmap, its green light for the resumption of the testing program,” Reedie said, adding that RUSADA could resume its work “hopefully” in early June. In a separate development on Thursday, WADA announced the creation of a new independent testing body but admitted it could not compel sports federations to come under its authority.

IOC backs plan

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has backed the plan for an independent testing authority (ITA) and said it would be operational in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Valerie Fourneyron, chairman of WADA’s Medical Committee, headed a working group to study the creation of the new testing agency. She said it was a “piece of the puzzle” in the fight against drugs. The body would “allow greater efficiency to ensure that tests improve,” she said.

However, Fourneyron conceded that international sports federations could choose whether or not to come under the jurisdiction of the testing body. “It is not legally possible to force them to join.” It means that powerful sports federations which already have their own testing regimes may choose not to join. Nevertheless the announcement was welcomed by representatives of the anti-doping establishment. Fourneyron said the ITA’s board of directors would comprise five members — a chairman, an IOC representative, a representative from an international federation, an athlete and a doping expert.