Russia is penalized for falsifying the anti-doping data of its athletes. Russians have 21 days to appeal.
he World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided on Monday to exclude Russia from the Olympics for four years, which includes Tokyo-2020 and Beijing-2022, to punish the falsification of control data handed over to the agency, said a spokesperson for WADA following the executive committee meeting in Lausanne.
“The full list of recommendations (Sanctions of the Compliance Review Committee) was approved unanimously” of the twelve members of the executive committee, told the media that spokesman, James Fitzgerald .
The Compliance Review Committee recommended, among other things, the exclusion of the Russian flag from the Olympics and any world championship for four years, with the possible presence of Russian athletes under the “neutral” flag.
“This means that Russian athletes, if they wish to participate in the Olympic or Paralympic Games or any other major event included in the recommendations, must demonstrate that they are not involved in the doping programs described in the Mclaren reports or that their samples have not been falsified”
The decision of WADA may be challenged within 21 days before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), by the National Anti-Doping Agency Rusada, or by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) or any international federation concerned.
The appeal would in principle be suspensive and the sanctions would only be applicable once confirmed by the CAS.
Hundreds of suspicious results
Other measures approved by WADA on Monday include a four-year ban on the organization of world competitions (Olympic Games and World Championships).
This suspension is the result of the falsification of anti-doping data provided by Russia to the World Anti-Doping Agency earlier this year.
Computer experts commissioned by WADA found that “hundreds” of suspicious results had been erased from this data, some of them between December 2018 and January 2019, just before delivery.
