A smartphone app and an enhanced education program "lie at the heart of the Tennis Integrity Unit’s latest efforts to control match-fixing." Since the establishment of the TIU in '08, its full-time staff -- which has doubled over the past year to 10 -- has been "dominated" by ex-police officers working as investigators. But the "scale of the problem has led to new measures intended to cut off the supply of potential fixers at source." A TIU spokesperson said, "We will be appointing a dedicated training and education manager in early 2017. A new smartphone app has also been introduced which provides direct access to the TIU online player education program in six languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese" (London TELEGRAPH, 1/7).
The Int'l Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation "lifted the provisional suspension of four Russian skeleton athletes," including Sochi Gold Medalist Alexander Tretiakov and Bronze Medalist Elena Nikitina. The Russians were suspended following the second part of the McLaren report, which alleged "a state-sponsored doping programme" in the country. The IBSF said that there was "currently insufficient evidence to continue with the provisional suspension" (BBC, 1/8).
