WADA will begin an audit of Russia's anti-doping program this week as it "prepares to make a recommendation on whether to reinstate the Russian agency," the organization said on Sunday, according to Gene Cherry of REUTERS. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has been suspended by WADA since a report published in Nov. '15, led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, "found evidence of state-sponsored doping and accused it of systematically violating anti-doping regulations." WADA's compliance review committee will hold a special meeting on Oct. 24 to hear a report on the audit, the anti-doping agency said in a statement after its exec board met in Paris. The review committee will then make a recommendation at WADA's board meeting in November on whether to reinstate RUSADA (REUTERS, 9/24). The AFP reported WADA's exec committee said that it was emphasizing three points:
- The responsible authorities for anti-doping in Russia must "publically accept the reported outcomes of the McLaren Investigation."
- The Russian Government "must provide access for appropriate entities to the stored urine samples in the Moscow Laboratory." These samples are "sealed off" due to a federal investigation.
- WADA must audit RUSADA this week (AFP, 9/25).
