Russia warned to accept McLaren results as WADA plans audit

PARIS: Russia was warned by WADA on Sunday that it must “publically accept” the McLaren report on state-sponsored doping in the country as officials prepared to visit Moscow to audit antidoping progress.

The McLaren report, released in 2015, alleged state- sponsored doping in Russia from 2011 to 2015.

The investigation said the cheating peaked at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi where Russian secret agents engineered an elaborate system of state-backed doping.

Russia’s own anti- doping body RUSADA was declared “noncompliant” while the country’s track and field team was banned from the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

On Sunday, WADA’s executive commit tee said they were emphasising three points:

• T hat t he r e s p ons ibl e authorities for anti- doping in Russia must publically accept the reported outcomes of the McLaren Investigation.

• That 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.

• That WADA audits RUSADA, which will be carried out the week of 25 September 2017. There are still questions over Russia’s participation at the next Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February, 2018. — AFP