AP Source: WADA committee calls Russian agency non-compliant

AP Source: WADA committee calls Russian agency non-compliant

Published Nov. 13, 2015 4:53 p.m. ET

DENVER (AP) A World Anti-Doping Agency committee found Russia's anti-doping operation non-compliant with its code Friday and also concluded that the track team might not be the only Russian squad with issues.

WADA's compliance review committee looked at the report issued by a WADA-appointed independent panel earlier this week and also gave the Russian agency, known as RUSADA, a chance to respond.

Text from the summary of the decision was provided to The Associated Press by a person with access to the findings, who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The committee's findings will go to the WADA foundation board, which will vote on it at its meeting next Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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The RUSADA decision came only hours before track's governing body, the IAAF, provisionally suspended the Russian track federation - a decision that would keep the team out of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro if it's still in effect next August. Both the IAAF decision and the findings on RUSADA will prevent Russia from hosting any international sports events. The world junior track championships and world race-walking championships were both supposed to be held in Russia next year.

Among the flaws the independent commission found at RUSADA were doping control officers who routinely accepted bribes from athletes and sanctioned athletes were allowed to compete while they were supposed to be banned.

The compliance committee noted that RUSADA had acknowledged some of the breaches and ''expressed full openness and willingness to work with WADA to address'' them.

But, the committee said, RUSADA did not provide it with assurances that the alleged breaches do not exist or are being fixed.

And while the independent commission explored allegations regarding the Russian track team, the WADA panel also noted ''that the situation described by the (independent commission) could possibly exist in other sport disciplines in Russia,'' the summary said.

WADA has already suspended the anti-doping laboratory in Moscow. That decision will be reviewed next week, as well.

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