Russia, biathlon saga head agenda at WADA meeting

AFP  |  Montreal 

The fallout from the doping scandal and a corruption crisis in biathlon will dominate the agenda as (WADA) chiefs gather in this week.

has been at the centre of a standoff between and ever since the body's suspension in November 2015 following revelations of a vast doping scandal involving Moscow's main drug-testing laboratory.

is adamant that will continue to be ruled non-compliant until accepts the findings of its bombshell and also allows inspectors into the testing laboratory.

WADA has set out a roadmap detailing the path RUSADA must take to regain "compliant" status and rejoin the ranks of recognised testing authorities.

The agency has already been allowed to resume doping controls under the supervision of WADA-appointed monitors and the RUSADA's new director-general, Yuri Ganus, meanwhile, has repeatedly vowed to restore trust in the tarnished testing agency.

However, in the eyes of WADA, RUSADA has still failed to meet two key conditions necessary for it regain its full compliant status, namely granting access to the laboratory and samples that may have been stored there, as well as fully accepting the findings of the

WADA told a symposium in in March that Russia failed to respond to four letters requesting a joint inspection of their laboratory.

Russia's authorities have consistently denied allegations of a state-sponsored doping scheme, a key finding of the

The WADA impasse takes on added significance with due to kick off in Russia in just under a month's time. Russia's non-compliance has already led to deadlock in

The of Federations (IAAF) says it will not lift its ban on Russian track and field athletes until WADA declares Russia in compliance with all of its regulations.

That hardline stance saw Russian track and field athletes barred from and 2017 World Championships in London, with the exception of a handful of exempted Russian athletes competing under a neutral banner.

Meanwhile, Russia has been forced onto the defensive in another scandal involving the sport of biathlon.

An internal WADA report alleged that Russia had attempted to buy the silence of chiefs to ensure that no proceedings would be opened against Russian athletes with suspicious biological passports.

"The main goal of the corruption is to protect doped Russian athletes," concluded the WADA report dated late 2017.

IBU -- himself a member of the WADA -- was forced to resign following the revelations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, May 16 2018. 14:25 IST