DFSNZ calls on sport and to stand strong for clean athletes

With the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) set to consider whether Russia should be excluded from all international sporting events, including next year’s Tokyo Olympics, because of its ongoing and systematic athlete doping violations, Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) has called on public authorities and the international sports movement to stand strong for clean athletes

Commenting in advance of a WADA executive committee meeting in France next week, DFSNZ Chief Executive, Nick Paterson today advised “the Russian doping saga continues.

“Next week a critical decision will be made by WADA’s executive committee after its Compliance Review Committee (CRC) recommended that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) be declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code due to the manipulation and deletion of vital data provided to WADA.

 “We are letting our clean athletes down if such disregard and disrespect for WADA’s authority and rules isn’t appropriately punished. And it has only come to light because of the diligence of WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations team.

“While the CRC recommendations include the banning of Russian athletes from next year’s Olympic games, it’s worth noting that these recommendations leave open the possibility of Russian athletes and coaches participating ‘neutrally’ in Tokyo if they can show they are clean.

“But without the original, unaltered lab data, how will we ever really know?

“And it is not time to equivocate about who held the data or who manipulated the data. We have a worldwide anti-doping system with clear rules. An athlete would be laughed at for trying to change the rules of a competition - or the anti-doping rules - after the competition has been finished.

“It is time for Public Authorities and the Sports Movement who sit on the WADA Executive Committee to stand strong. We’ve seen Kiwi athletes miss out on their golden moments at medal ceremonies in the past. We don’t want a repeat of that in Tokyo.”