British track sprinter Callum Skinner has expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision to lift the suspension of Russia's anti-doping agency, Rusada. "I don't see why Wada is backing down,” he told the BBC. “It should be the Russians making compromises."
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has ended a three-year suspension for alleged state-sponsored doping, having offered Russia a 'compromise' solution.
“I feel like Wada’s worked incredibly hard for the people who’ve been sanctioned,” said Skinner. “And I don’t think that’s their job. Their job’s to protect the athletes that are hurt by this.”
Wada had initially insisted that Russia meet two criteria before Rusada could be re-admitted: accept the findings of the McLaren Report into state-sponsored doping, and grant access to Moscow's anti-doping laboratory.
The organisation now says that Russia has "sufficiently acknowledged" failures, while its compliance review committee has "accepted that the new commitment to provide access to the data and samples in the Moscow laboratory to Wada via an independent expert would be sufficient to justify reinstatement".
Skinner says that the anti-doping body should have held firm.
"I know people say time is a good healer, and I think that is what Wada is hoping for. But we have to remember what brought this ban in the first place," he said.
"We need to accept the road map in full and I don't see why Wada is offering an olive branch to one of the biggest doping scandals in history."
If you want to understand what clean athletes are up against in one sentence.
Craig Reedie World Anti-Doping Agency President “...and I fully expect the Russian authorities to fulfil their obligation”.
What part of the WADA McLaren report merits such optimism and trust? pic.twitter.com/zHsuLjaUI4
— Callum Skinner (@CallumSkinner) September 21, 2018
“People in sports governance are answerable to the athletes and I think that’s so often something that’s forgotten or neglected by those in power,” said Skinner.
He feels that the buck stops with Wada President Sir Craig Reedie. “I think it’s his job to ensure that sport’s a place that’s fair, a place that’s clean for everyone that’s invested – whether that’s parents who have kids competing in sport, whether that’s athletes, or whether that’s sport fans. Everyone wants to watch genuine performances.”
Olympic champion Callum Skinner taking break from cycling – but hopes to be back for Tokyo
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.