19 Jun 2016

More drug issues for Russian athletes

6:37 am on 19 June 2016

Russian athletes produced 52 positive tests and 111 whereabouts failures, the World Anti-Doping Agency said in its status update report concerning Russian testing during their period of non-compliance.

The WADA report, which covers a six-month period from last November following the suspension of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, also said some Russian athletes did not complete events or withdrew from start lists to elude doping control officers.

The update comes two days before the International Association of Athletics Federations hold a key vote in Vienna on whether to allow Russian track and field athletes to compete at the Rio Olympics.

Russia was suspended from all athletics competitions in November after an independent report from the WADA revealed widespread state-sponsored doping.

Russian athletes again feature heavily in the latest WADA report on doping.

Russian athletes again feature heavily in the latest WADA report on doping. Photo: Supplied

The latest update on testing from WADA certainly will not help the Russian cause.

The update found widespread efforts to avoid testing, including one detailed instance where an athlete tried to use a container inserted inside her body that presumably contained clean urine.

But according to WADA, when the athlete tried to use the container it leaked onto the floor and not into the collection vessel. The athlete then threw the container into the trash and tried to bribe the doping control officer.

She eventually provided a sample which WADA said returned an adverse analytical finding.

-Reuters