WADA said that its expert team has “finally managed to retrieve all the doping data from the Moscow laboratory -- but admits it cannot yet be sure whether it is genuine,” according to Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. WADA has been “attempting to get its hands on the data” since ‘15 in order to “build cases against thousands of Russian athletes who are suspected of being involved in state-sponsored doping.” However, Russia had “refused to cooperate” until WADA’s exec committee “controversially decided to lift the suspension" of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in September. WADA President Craig Reedie said that the news is a "major breakthrough for clean sport" after WADA’s three-strong team of experts "finally completed its Moscow mission on Thursday.” He said, “It shows we are continuing to make real progress that simply would not have happened without the 20 September ExCo decision. The long impasse around access to the former Moscow Laboratory has been broken and that is significantly good news.” However many in the anti-doping world “remain sceptical of Russia, with rumours rife that the original data may well have been wiped by the authorities.” Reedie said WADA would now need to “authenticate and review the data to ensure it is complete and that it has not been compromised” (GUARDIAN, 1/18). The AP reported WADA's compliance review committee is “reviewing the case and will send its recommendation to the executive committee, which will decide RUSADA's status next Tuesday.” If RUSADA is “again stripped of its compliant status, new rules mean Russia could be barred from hosting major international sports events until the situation is resolved.” The previous RUSADA suspension was “under old rules which didn't allow WADA to influence events like Russia's hosting of the soccer World Cup last year” (AP, 1/17).
