MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. The number of doping convictions of Russian athletes, resulting from data retrieved from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), has risen to 166, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reported on Saturday.
"Cases resulting from WADA’s independent Intelligence and Investigation Department’s retrieval in 2019 of data and samples from the Moscow Laboratory (known as ‘Operation LIMS’) continue to proceed. It was highlighted to the ExCo that a further 28 cases had successfully resulted in convictions since last reported as at end-July. This brings the total to 166 so far, with more expected as all cases are being followed up," the organizations said.
The WADA statement also says that once the two-year period covered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling expires on 17 December 2022, WADA will launch a three-phase reinstatement process of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
First, WADA Management will carefully assess whether RUSADA has met all the conditions of reinstatement as laid out in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) award. Second, once WADA Management considers that all conditions have been met, it will refer the matter to the independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) for its review. Third, following that review, if the CRC agrees with WADA Management that the conditions have been met, it will make a recommendation to the ExCo for its consideration.
"The process for reinstatement does not end on 17 December - in fact, the process only starts on that date. Through the three phases of that process, compliance will be robustly assessed. We will need to verify each and every one of the reinstatement conditions," WADA President Witold Banka said.
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 Olympic Games in Japan.
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.