UPDATED: WADA Reinstates Russia

(ATR) WADA’s leaders have voted in favor of reinstating Russia, despite the global outcry from anti-doping groups and athletes in recent days.

The decision to restore RUSADA's compliance came at the WADA executive committee meeting in the Seychelles on Thursday. It followed months of talks between WADA officials and Russian authorities that resulted in a compromise deal.

Russia has failed to fulfil what WADA initially demanded in its roadmap to compliance.The country's sports ministry has failed to accept the findings of the McLaren reports or provided access to the thousands of samples stored in the Moscow laboratory and electronic data.

Commenting on the crucial vote, reported to be 9-2 in favor or Russia, WADA president Craig Reedie said the reinstatement of RUSADA as compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code was "subject to strict conditions" and followed the recommendation by the agency’s independent Compliance Review Committee "and in accordance with an agreed process".

"This decision provides a clear timeline by which WADA must be given access to the former Moscow laboratory data and samples with a clear commitment by the ExCo that should this timeline not be met, the ExCo would support the CRC’s recommendation to reinstate non-compliance," he said.

The IOC gave little away in its initial reaction to WADA's announcement that has been on the cards for sometime.

"We take note of the decision taken by the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency which is made up of an equal number of members from governments and from the sports movement. It follows the recommendation of the independent Compliance Review Committee," an IOC spokesperson tellsAround the Rings.

RUSADA was suspended in November 2015 over the bombshell revelations about state-sponsored doping in two separate WADA-commissioned reports.

WADA's decision to bring Russia back into the fold will be widely perceived as a damaging blow in the global fight against doping.

Anti-doping groups and athletes' bodies are expected to condemn the WADA decision.

The lawyer acting on behalf of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, who blew the whistle on Russia's state-directed doping program, issued a statement lashing out at WADA.

"WADA’s decision to reinstate Russia represents the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history," said Jim Walden.

"The United States is wasting its money by continuing to fund WADA, which is obviously impotent to address Russia’s state-sponsored doping. The only way to stem the tide of Russian corruption is for Congress to pass the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, which will give the Department of Justice the necessary tools to put those engaged in doping fraud behind bars, where they belong," he added.

Renee Ann Shirley blew the whistle on the lack of testing by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission ahead of London 2012 the year later to WADA said she was "depressed," watching the organization change course on RUSADA.

"I'm depressed this morning watching it all unfold in such a predictable manner," Shirley said on twitter. "The power dynamics in WADA are controlled by IOC cabal and not helped by a Government representative VP with no understanding of how isolated she is within the Executive Comittee ranks and athlete representatives trying to speak out yet not lose favor."

What's Next for Doping

After the decision, all eyes on the sporting world will now focus to what is the fallout from the decision. Russia is still suspended by two bodies, the International Association of Athletics Federations and the International Paralympic Committee.

IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement that he is "glad that this situation has moved forward," but work still needs to be done for Russia to meet the IPC's requirements for compliance. Outside of accepting the McLaren Report and providing access to the Moscow Anti-Doping Lab, Russia must also reimburse the IPC for the cost of the enhanced testing program.

"It is the IPC Taskforce that will assess whether WADA’s decision about RUSADA addresses two of the final three remaining reinstatement criteria related to the RPC suspension," Parsons said. "We do not expect the IPC Taskforce to provide any recommendations to the IPC Governing Board until the criterion related to the IPC’s reimbursement costs associated with the suspension is satisfied."

The IAAF Athletes Commission sent a letter to WADA urging the anti-doping body to not reinstate RUSADA, and the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) remains suspended by the IAAF. Any decision on whether or not to reinstate Russia will not come before the December board of governor's meeting, the federation said in a statement.

Any decision taken on RusAF would first have to be recommended by the IAAF independent taskforce lead by Rune Andersen.

"Andersen and his taskforce will review the decision made by WADA and the conditions set by WADA over the next few weeks and check RusAF progress on other criteria still outstanding," the IAAF statement said. "The taskforce will then compile their report with a recommendation and present this to the IAAF Council at the beginning of December. It is then for Council to discuss and decide any actions."

WADA's decision was continued to be scrutinized by many organizations including the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and UK Sport. There have also been calls for governments around the world to pull its funding from WADA, as a result of the decision.

"We call on WADA to fully and transparently explain how it came to the compromise of reinstating Russia - and how it will ensure that the new conditions are fully met and implemented," a UK Sport spokesperson said in a statement. "A strong WADA and a unified anti-doping community are vital to the integrity of sport and to ensure public trust and support is maintained."

Reported by Mark Bissonadditional reporting done by Aaron Bauer

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