MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) received last month 14 applications from athletes requesting TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) permits, an agency spokesperson told TASS on Wednesday.

"RUSADA received 14 requests for Therapeutic Use Exemption permits in September," the spokesperson said adding that the agency also granted approval to six of the earlier submitted requests.

In all, RUSADA received 105 requests for TUE permits since the start of the year (nine in January; 23 in February; 20 in March, six in April, 11 in May, six in June, 11 in July and five in August).

The country’s anti-doping body reported previously that in 2023 RUSADA received 117 applications from national athletes requesting TUE permits and 69 out of them were granted approval. The number for the year of 2022 stood at 78 requests for TUE permits and 40 granted approvals.

TUE is a term used by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which allows an athlete to legally consume a drug from the list of banned substances if an athlete is "required to take [the drug] to treat an illness or condition." A number of experts believe that many athletes use these TUE permits as a loophole to evade doping penalties.