Russian sport continued its "journey into exile" Wednesday when Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA was "excluded from the doping process, meaning that the country cannot host or bid for international events," according to Ron Lewis of the LONDON TIMES. The decision, made at the World Anti-Doping Agency’s foundation board meeting in Colorado Springs, came two weeks after a "damning report revealed systematic doping in Russian athletics." Argentina, Ukraine, Bolivia, Israel and Andorra were "also declared non-compliant." Andorra and Israel have been told that they "did not have enough rules" from the '15 WADA code in place, while Argentina, Bolivia and Ukraine were "found to be using non-accredited laboratories." Russia’s problems "run much deeper." The decision to declare RUSADA non-compliant was passed "unanimously and seemed a formality after the damning report" (LONDON TIMES, 11/19). REUTERS' Steve Keating reported the suspension of RUSADA "completed a non-compliance hat-trick." The Moscow laboratory implicated in the cover-up has been "decertified," while the Russian athletics federation (ARAF) was "banned last week" by IAAF. The commission, led by former WADA President Dick Pound, "generated plenty of buzz" at a Wednesday board meeting, as the world-doping authority "signaled a possible change in the way it does business going forward." Pound: "I'm not sure they (WADA) realized they had the muscle until we got our teeth into some reliable evidence and followed up on it and came out with a report with recommendations. Maybe that's the new WADA" (REUTERS, 11/19).
PIVOTAL MOMENT: In London, Sean Ingle wrote WADA described the decision as "a pivotal moment for sport." WADA spokesperson Ben Nichols said, "Firm action was requested following the report highlighting deficiencies in Russian athletics' anti-doping system. And firm action is now being taken." WADA is "unable to take action directly against countries it declares to be non-compliant." However, stakeholders -- such as the IOC, the Int'l Paralympic Committee and other major sporting bodies -- "can impose consequences." In theory, a country declared non-compliant "runs the risk of missing next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio." In practice, such a "cataclysmic decision is still a long way off." WADA President Craig Reedie said, "The message is clear -- there will now be greater focus on strengthening compliance work so all anti-doping organisations worldwide are held accountable to deliver robust anti-doping programs" (GUARDIAN, 11/18). Keating reported in a separate piece Brazil, France, Belgium, Greece, Mexico and Spain have until March to get their "house in order" and bring their anti-doping programs "in line with the WADA code." The foundation board heard from several members "urging the global agency to do more and dig deeper." Canadian cross-country Olympic champion and WADA Athlete Committee Chair Beckie Scott told the board that "many athletes have asked her why the commission was focused solely on Russia and Russian athletics." Scott said, "They're saying, 'Why not all sports?' We're at a crossroads. We urge you to please consider the athletes and sports as a whole" (REUTERS, 11/19). The BBC reported the "non-compliant" countries have "failed to respond fully" to WADA's request for information. Drug testing will continue, but it will be "carried out independently and the country in question will foot the bill." This "will continue until the country reinstalls" quality anti-doping programs (BBC, 11/19).
'ROBUST' VERIFICATION: REUTERS' Karolos Grohmann reported IAAF President Sebastian Coe said that Russia will need to "prove its commitment to anti-doping" according to a set of "robust" verification criteria if its track and field athletes are to return to the competitions. Coe said, "The verification criteria must be robust, otherwise the inspection process will fail. Repeating past failings which have brought ARAF to their current position is not an option." Coe said that a set of five principals would "help define the verification criteria." He added that Russia needed to take "immediate corrective and disciplinary measures" against those athletes involved in doping while also "establishing an effective and operational anti-doping framework." Russia also "needed to establish a robust anti-doping programme, ensure anti-doping code compliance and undergo reforms that will help deter athletes from doping, such as crimialising the distribution of banned substances" (REUTERS, 11/19). The PA reported Russian athletes are "set to be banned from the World Indoor Championships next year" after it was announced that a review of its anti-doping program would not be completed until the end of March. All Russian athletes have been "provisionally banned" from int'l competition. An IAAF statement announced the timetable for the inspection team: "It is planned that the inspection team mission will commence the verification process no later than January 1, 2016 with a first report back at the earliest to the IAAF council at their meeting in Cardiff on March 27, 2016." The World Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 17-20 in Portland, Oregon (PA, 11/19).
REFORM: REUTERS' Kelly & Stubbs reported Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that Russia will reform RUSADA, but "will not abolish it altogether." Mutko's comments "suggested Russia was prepared to bring in reforms, though partly on its own terms, in order to avoid the threat of being barred from next year's Rio Olympics." Mutko: "We are saddened by WADA's decisions, but we respect them. ... We are prepared to fully reshape RUSADA, however it is important to understand that the agency has not been liquidated and will continue its work" (REUTERS, 11/19).
PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS: Keating reported in a separate piece Pound said that "more must be done to protect whistleblowers who are often treated worse than the drug cheats they expose." Pound, who led a WADA independent commission that uncovered widespread doping, did so "with the help of evidence provided by middle-distance runner Yulia Stepanova and her husband Vitaly." Yulia, who secretly recorded conversations with fellow sports people and coaches over months, "then handed the tapes over and since gone underground fearing for her safety." Pound said, "We've got to do better job encouraging and protecting whistleblowers. ... In some cases you probably have to face the fact they are probably going to have to leave their country, we have to find them a place to go, maybe help them find a new job wherever they are. It is a little short of witness protection plans but it would have some of those elements" (REUTERS, 11/19).
