The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) confirmed Thursday it has sent its case for the exclusion of Russia from international sporting competitions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
CAS, the world’s highest sport court, must decided whether to confirm the four-year ban Wada imposed on Russia last month or consider Russia’s case against the epic sanction.
The announcement came exactly one month after Wada decided to impose a four-year ban on Russia over what it considers a state-sponsored doping scheme – prohibiting Russia from participating in such events as this year’s Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 football World Cup.
Wada says Russia “manipulated” data from an anti-doping laboratory in Moscow in the latest move in a long-running scandal that began with the 2015 revelation of long-term institutional doping involving senior Russian officials, secret agents and trafficked urine vials.
Under the sanctions, Russians would be allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics only if they can demonstrate they were not part of the doping network – the same situation they faced at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where Russia’s men captured ice hockey gold.
