Top SA swimmer a Fancy Bears victim
GOLD medallist Cameron van der Burgh is the first South African whose confidential medical information has been released by the cyber hackers Fancy Bears.
The group at the weekend released data hacked from the Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS) which centred around therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs).
The hackers, with links to Russia, have leaked batches of data they illegally obtained from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) databases since the middle of this month.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) yesterday said it condemned the publication of confidential medical information and the attempt to discredit athletes.
“TUEs are issued to athletes who have a medical condition which requires treatment using substances normally prohibited by antidoping authorities,” SAIDS said.
“In South Africa, TUEs are issued in terms of strict rules and international standards, and are assessed by an independent panel of medical experts.
“The process is designed to ensure the requirement is genuine and that the substance does not afford the athlete an unfair advantage but rather addresses a medical condition,” SAIDS said.
Van der Burgh was among international athletes from Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the US whose medical data was released.
Big names such as British Tour de France champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, and Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal are among the athletes whose private details have been leaked.
Van der Burgh received a TUE for four years between 2009 and 2013 for salbutamol, which is commonly taken through an asthma inhaler.
Wada removed salbutamol from the prohibited list in 2010.