Russia may face Olympics ban over ‘data tampering’

LONDON: Russia could face being excluded from the Tokyo Olympics next summer due to suspected tampering of anti-doping data, according to reports.

The Sunday Telegraph says the World Anti-Doping Agency believes data submitted to it from Russia’s Moscow anti-doping laboratory has been manipulated over the last year-and-a-half in a bid to cover up historic and systemic drug-taking by Russian athletes.

A WADA executive committee meeting takes place in Tokyo on Monday, and the Sunday Telegraph says it is expected the findings will be reported there, and that the potential re-suspension of Russia’s anti-doping agency, RUSADA, is due to be discussed.

Reports suggest the situation could lead to Russia being banned from next summer’s Olympics. WADA has declined to comment until after Monday’s meeting.

WADA in January obtained raw data from testing equipment from the Moscow laboratory at the centre of the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal. That was part of a controversial deal in September 2018 to reinstate RUSADA after being suspended for three years.

The World Athletics Championships start on Friday in Doha, where Russian athletes are set to compete as neutrals due to the IAAF’s ban on its Russian member association RusAF.