Russia welcomes WADA ban lift, says result of 'enormous work'

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lifted a ban on RUSADA, Russia's anti-doping agency, paving the way for Russian athletes to return to competition across all sports.

In a letter, INADO accused the World Anti-Doping Agency of seeking to fast-track Russia's reinstatement at any cost.

The Russian government on Thursday applauded the decision by the world anti-doping body to lift sanctions on Russia's anti-doping agency, with a deputy prime minister saying Russian authorities had done “enormous work” to improve testing.

“We welcome WADA's decision,” Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying after the World Anti-Doping Agency's executive committee voted to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).

“Over the past years Russia has done enormous work to create transparent and understandable measures to prevent doping.”

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However Jim Walden, the lawyer of Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, led the first wave of outcry at the decision.

“WADA's decision to reinstate Russia represents the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history,” said Walden, whose client lifted the lid on Russia's doping scandal in 2015.

The softening of WADA's stance has triggered outrage from athletes and national anti-doping agencies around the world, who have accused WADA of caving in to pressure from the International Olympic Committee.