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Despite the widespread condemnation of athletes and anti-doping groups, the global drug regulator in sport on Thursday lifted the ban on the Russian anti-doping agency following allegations of corruption at the Olympics and other events.
The regulator's executive committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, voted in favor of the reinstatement of the Russian agency, known as Rusada, following a scandal centered on the 2014 Winter Games, among others hole in the wall at the agency testing laboratory.
A WADA committee unexpectedly recommended reinstatement Friday and the board of directors, meeting in Seychelles, confirmed it. The vote was adopted by a "large majority," said WADA President Craig Reedie. He stated that the reinstatement was accompanied by "strict conditions" and that Rusada could again be declared non-compliant if it did not respect a deadline to allow access to Russian data and samples.
This decision should lead to further criticism of WADA, which has angered athletes and other anti-doping officials by easing some of the demands on Russia.
He gave up insisting that Russia accept the findings of an investigation by Richard McLaren, which highlighted a state-funded doping program that had allowed the country to win Olympic medals at the Olympic Games. Winter of Sochi. Instead, WADA asked Russia to accept the less severe conclusions about the role of the government in what is known as the Schmid report, produced by a commission of the International Olympic Committee.
Pavel Kolobkov, the Russian Sports Minister, said in a letter to WADA that his government had accepted the findings of the Schmid report and had agreed to provide data and samples stored to Russian athletes without making an appointment.
WADA President Craig Reedie told the BBC before Thursday's vote: "I think it's entirely in the roadmap that has been specified. The second condition always requires a copy of the database and raw data to reach us. If they do not deliver, they will not comply. "
But many athletes and officials have expressed dismay at the reintegration plans.
Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistleblower who revealed Russia's doping program, called for the decision in an article published by USA Today. "The AMA must not fall prey to manipulations and false assertions of the ministry, the same branch of the Kremlin that facilitated the doping program and claimed false obligations," Rodchenkov wrote. "To do it would be a disaster for clean sport".
His lawyer, Jim Walden, said after the decision, "WADA's decision to re-enter Russia represents the greatest betrayal against clean athletes in Olympic history.
Linda Helleland, Norway, vice president of WADA, had announced before the decision that she would vote no. "As long as the McLaren report will not be recognized and WADA still does not have access to the laboratories, I will vote against Russia's reinstatement," she said.
Beckie Scott, a former cross-country skier from Canada, resigned from the WADA Compliance Review Committee after approving Rusada's readmission.
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