Key points of the WADA-sponsored inquiry into Russian state-sponsored doping

TORONTO – Key findings of a World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned inquiry headed by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren into alleged state-sponsored doping in Russia:

— Russia operated an organized system to thwart positive tests for banned substances from at least late 2011 to August 2015.

— The Russian ministry of sport “directed, controlled and oversaw” the manipulation of test results with the active participation of the country’s security service, dope-testing labs and sports officials.

— The dope testing lab in Moscow was used to protect athletes using banned drugs and that employees of the lab were required to participate.

— The samples from pre-selected athletes at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, had positive tests discarded through an elaborate system the report calls Disappearing Positive Methodology (DPM).

— Russian athletes in Sochi beat tests by providing clean urine samples in advance, then swapping them for the positive samples taken at the Games. The swaps involved opening supposedly tamper-proof sample bottles.

— Athletes from 30 sports were included, led by athletics and weightlifting. Hockey and Paralympians were also cited, although no athletes are named in the report.

— Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow lab who first went pubic with information on state-sponsored doping, was “a credible and truthful person,” as were other witnesses interviewed in the investigation.

— The report made no recommendations for sanctions or discipline against Russia. McLaren said it is up to sports bodies (like the International Olympic Committee or the various sports federations) to decide whether to bar the Russian team from any competitions.