WASHINGTON: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is set to clear 95 Russian athletes investigated over involvement in the country’s alleged mammoth doping program, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
A leaked internal WADA report published by the newspaper Tuesday said the agency found it could not gather enough evidence against 95 out of 96 Russian athletes who it has been probing.
“The available evidence was insufficient to support the assertion of an anti-doping rule violation against these 95 athletes,” WADA Director General Olivier Niggli wrote in the document. The report did not name any of the athletes under investigation.
A string of WADA reports has previously uncovered reams of evidence that the Russian authorities ran a large-scale program to help competitors cheat international doping tests.
Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was declared “non-compliant” with international sport’s anti-doping code in November 2015 and its track and field Olympics squad and entire Paralympics team were barred from Rio 2016.
An independent investigation for the agency by professor Richard McLaren in 2016 implicated some 1,000 athletes in the doping system.
Moscow has furiously denied that it ran a state-sponsored scheme to cheat at international sporting events and insists it is doing its best to crack down on dopers.
And Russian officials said WADA’s decision only served to shed doubt on the revelations in McLaren’s report.
“In general the information of the McLaren report appears to be incomplete and moreover in many cases unreliable,” R-Sport agency quoted Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the deputy chief of Russia’s Olympic Committee, as saying.
“For the moment none of Russia’s 1,000 athletes mentioned in the McLaren report has been found guilty or banned on the basis of his information. Meanwhile, a year has already passed (since the report was issued).”
While this latest twist may help bolster the Kremlin’s claims, Niggli suggested to the New York Times that an absence of evidence did not necessarily prove Russia’s innocence.
“The system was very well-organized,” Niggli said. “On top if it, years after the fact, the remaining evidence is often very limited.”
Niggli said that invetigations into other athletes implicated in the doping scheme are ongoing.
Russia’s anti-doping agency RUSADA is currently battling to get itself reinstated, but faces a list of remaining WADA criteria that it must first meet.
WADA clears 95 Russian athletes of doping charges
WADA clears 95 Russian athletes of doping charges
Hojgaard inspires Dubai students as Hero Dubai Desert Classic takes trophy tour to schools
DUBAI: Young Danish star Nicolai Hojgaard helped inspire the next generation of golfers as the Hero Dubai Desert Classic took its Dallah Trophy on tour across Dubai schools before the tournament’s 37th edition.
The Middle East’s oldest golf event returns to Emirates Golf Club from Jan. 22-25, with the trophy tour forming part of a wider drive to promote the sport at grassroots level and engage young people throughout the UAE.
The initiative began on Monday at The English College, where Hojgaard, a DP World Tour professional, met students for a Q&A session and trophy presentation. Pupils also took part in introductory golf activities delivered by the Emirates Golf Federation, designed to give them a fun and accessible first experience of the game.
The school visits are being delivered in partnership with The R&A and the Emirates Golf Federation through The R&A’s “Unleash Your Drive in Schools” program. The initiative introduces golf in an inclusive, non-intimidating way while highlighting its physical and mental health benefits.
Following the opening visit, the trophy tour continued to Dubai Heights Academy on Tuesday and Horizon English School on Wednesday, with a final stop scheduled at Bloom World Academy on Thursday.
Simon Corkill, executive tournament director of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said the program reflects the event’s long-term vision beyond elite competition.
“As the longest-running golf event in the Middle East, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is proud to work with The R&A and the Emirates Golf Federation to inspire the next generation of golfers,” he said. “The trophy tour and school taster sessions demonstrate our commitment to developing future talent and ensuring golf is seen as an inclusive, enjoyable and healthy sport for young people.”
The Dubai Desert Classic is one of the flagship events on the global golf calendar and plays a central role in the sport’s growth in the region.
