World Anti-Doping Agency To Gain Access To Russian Laboratory This Week

Russia's failure to provide full access to the laboratory and data by December 31 has led to calls for the country to be suspended. 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is to be granted access Russia's anti-doping laboratory in Moscow this week to retrieve data it had earlier been denied.

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov said a WADA team will return to Moscow on January 9, nine days after Russia failed to meet an initial deadline to hand over data from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's (RUSADA) laboratory.

WADA President Craig Reedie said access "will break a long impasse and will potentially lead to many cases being actioned."

Russia's failure to provide full access to the laboratory and data by December 31 has led to calls for the country to be suspended.

RUSADA was already stripped of its accreditation in 2015 after a WADA-commissioned report found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping in Russian track and field and other sports.

The Russian agency was conditionally reinstated in September following a three-year suspension, a move that was widely criticized by members of the anti-doping movement.

If RUSADA loses its accreditation again it could lead to Russian athletes being kept from participating in the next Olympic Games and the continuation of the ban on the country's track-and-field athletes from participating in international competitions.

Based on reporting by the BBC, dpa, and Reuters