Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leaked drug profiles of dozens of top athletes by Russia's Fancy Bears hackers show the need for greater disclosure of drug use by sick athletes.
"As we have come to know -- and the World Anti-Doping Agency is not denying that -- dozens or hundreds of athletes are taking these [banned] substances. Does anybody know that? No one does. Everything is done secretly," Putin said in televised comments to a sports forum on October 11. "It is clear that the whole system can and should be improved."
More than 100 Russian athletes were barred from the Rio Olympics this summer on charges of state-sponsored doping.
Since that time, the Fancy Bears hacking group, which has been traced to Russia, has posted information hacked from anti-doping agency files about Olympic athletes who were granted exemptions so they can use banned drugs to treat medical conditions such as allergies.
"If things go on further this way, only asthmatics or other athletes suffering from chronic diseases will win major sports events," Putin said.
He suggested putting athletes with medical conditions in a "special category" or having them compete separately from healthy athletes because of their drug exemptions.
