MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) have issued four-year bans in regard to seven Russian weightlifting athletes, who were on the data list of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), a senior official with the Russian Weightlifting Federation (RWF) told TASS on Monday.

"RUSADA announced today four-year disqualification terms in regard to seven Russian weightlifters," Anna Gridasova, the head of the RWF Anti-Doping Department, said. "Their names were in the LIMS database."

According to her, seven weightlifters at the issue are Saida Mirzabekova, Patimat Baltayeva, Takana Gekkiyeva, Alika Daudayeva, Ivana Geraimovich, Irina Yevdokimova and Alexandra Chepikova.

Gridasova said doping samples of these seven weightlifters were collected in 2012, "before the Russian Weightlifting Federation, under the helm of its new President Maxim Agapitov, launched its full-scale anti-doping fight."

She added that the Russian Weightlifting Federation solidly carries on with its zero-tolerance policy in regard to doping abuse in sports.

RUSADA-WADA case

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland’s Lausanne upheld on December 17, 2020 WADA’s (the World Anti-Doping Agency) previous ruling on a number of sanctions against Russian sports.

In particular, CAS upheld WADA’s decision to declare RUSADA as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. The court, however, ruled to cut the previously proposed four-year term of sanctions to the period of two years.

The Swiss-based court said in a statement on December 17 that the CAS Panel "unanimously determined RUSADA to be non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) in connection with its failure to procure the delivery of the authentic LIMS data (Laboratory Information Management System) and underlying analytical data of the former Moscow Laboratory to WADA" in the period between 2012 and 2015.

According to the CAS decision as of December 17, 2020, Russian athletes were deprived of their right to participate in all World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games under the national flag of Russia for the two-year period.

The national anthem of Russia was also ruled out to be played at international sport tournaments in the course of the next two years, including at the upcoming Olympic Games in Japan this year.

The ruling of the Swiss-based court also stripped Russia of the right to bid for the organization of all international sports tournaments for the period of two years. WADA’s sanctions will be in force until December 2022.