Western athletes are voicing their dismay at the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) recommendation to end Russia’s suspension from international sport.
Wada’s executive committee is due to discuss the fate of the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) on Thursday following a recommendation from its compliance review committee last week.
RUSADA has been suspended for almost three years and could only be reinstated if it met two criteria: granting Wada access to its Moscow laboratory and fully accepting the findings of the McLaren report, which revealed widespread drug cheating by the state.
Wada is split on whether Russia has met these criteria. The compliance review committee said it was satisfied that Russia is ready for reinstatement; however, the BBC published a conflicting Wada document which said neither of the criteria had been met.
The reinstatement of RUSADA as a member of WADA would be a key step in the journey for Russia to compete in athletics at an international level once again. At last year’s world championships, Russian track athletes competed under the banner of “authorised neutral athletes”.
As the news broke, current and former athletes from Canada, the UK and the US took to social media to excoriate the anti-doping agency.
.@wada_ama REMEMBER why you are here and who you here to protect. Who wants to collect medals 10 years later?! NO-ONE! #cleansport #protectcleanathletes
— kelly (@KellySotherton) September 18, 2018
British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, who last week was awarded a bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after Ukraine’s Lyudmila Blonska and Russia’s Tatyana Chernova were disqualified for doping, said “Who wants to collect medals 10 years later?! NO-ONE!”
You hope to think they would have empathy for all sportspersons who had been reallocated medals! Thanks Victoria
— kelly (@KellySotherton) September 19, 2018
Many figures from media and sport retweeted British former decathlete Daley Thompson, who asked “Why has Craig Reedie [Wada president] and Wada abandoned the very reason for their existence, try and help create a level playing field, to try and ease Russia back into international sport without having complied.”
Why has Craig Reedie and Wada abandoned the very reason for their existence, try and help create a level playing field, to try and ease Russia back into international sport without having complied. Have WADA made itself redundant? Does it have any credibility?
— Daley Thompson (@Daley_thompson) September 18, 2018
Other British athletes, including six-time Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy and marathon great Paula Radcliffe have signed a UK Doping Commission letter to the governing body expressing their dismay at the decision, saying it will “undermine trust in the essence of fair play on which sport is formed”.
ATHLETE VOICE | @uk_sport Chair, Dame Katherine Grainger, has added her name to the UKAD Athlete Commission letter to @wada_ama President Sir Craig Reedie regarding the reinstatement of Russia ⬇️#NoUturnWADA#Im4CleanSport pic.twitter.com/ZNytfnBoZT
— UK Anti-Doping (@ukantidoping) September 19, 2018
Brits weren’t the only athletes to speak up. Canadian former cross-country skier Beckie Scott resigned her position on the Wada Compliance Review Committee in protest at the RUSADA decision. She will, however, remain as the chair of Wada’s athlete committee.
Other Canadian athletes also took to the social media platform to express their disgust at the upcoming vote and thank Ms Scott for standing by her principles.
Principle & ethical leadership are hard to find in sport these days. @BeckieScott4 has always embodied those qualities. Thank you for taking a stand now, when those on top are compromising the integrity of sport. I stand behind you 100%. #NoUTurnWADA @wada_ama https://t.co/qVMkvygHAo
— Iñaki Gómez (@InakiGomezG) September 16, 2018
I'm about to sign a form regarding my responsabilities with respect to anti-doping. In the light of the latest @wada_ama announcements, I can't help but feel that my rights as a clean athlete are not protected at the same level as my commitment to clean sport. #TackleDoping
— Karen Paquin (@Karen_Pako) September 18, 2018