LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The Canadian lawyer who investigated the state-backed doping scheme by Russia when it hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics says the World Anti-Doping Agency rushed into accepting a bad deal by reinstating the country’s drug-testing program.
Richard McLaren tells The Associated Press he suspects there are “loopholes” in the deal which Russia could exploit to back out of its promises, including the pledge to give access to the Moscow lab sealed by federal investigators.
McLaren says WADA has “lost any kind of leverage over the ongoing situation with Russia,” adding “they have been rushed into a decision which they may regret given the outbursts of the athletes around the world.”
McLaren says WADA also erred by failing to end Russian legal cases in three countries arising from his work.
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