‘Inconsistencies’ in Russian doping tests raise fears of manipulation

Questions about Russian doping test results have raised fears sports cheats have moved from tampering with samples to attacking data itself.

When Russia handed over proof to the World Anti-Doping Agency showing its sport drug testing regime was finally above board in January, it had already missed several deadlines.

Having been almost completely booted from 2016’s Rio Olympic Games and banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics, the country appeared keen to shake free from a three-year suspension imposed after revelations of a state-sponsored doping program that ran from 2011 to 2015 and included the “vast majority” of its sporting codes.

But as it emerged in September there were “inconsistencies” in testing data supplied by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and that the country needed to explain why several athletes’ failed drug tests were erased, strange things started happening to the computer systems of sports and anti-doping agencies of more than a dozen other countries.

Hackers from the notorious Moscow-backed group Fancy Bear – who also contributed to the infamous 2016 attack on the Democrat National Committee ahead of the US election – let loose on at least 16 networks, including an unsuccessful attempt on Australia’s anti-doping body.

Tatyana Lysenko of Russia celebrates with her country's flag after claiming gold in the women's hammer throw final during day nine of the 13th IAAF World Athletics Championships in South Korea. Picture: Getty Images

Microsoft, which maintains security for several of the agencies, said the attacks came on September 16, days before WADA said Russia would potentially be punished over the suspect data.

“Some of these attacks were successful, but the majority were not,” said Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice-president for customer security and trust, in a blog post this week.

“Microsoft has notified all customers targeted in these attacks and has worked with those who have sought our help to secure compromised accounts or systems.”

It was one of the most brazen and public online attacks from Moscow, and it sparked an extraordinary response from the newly-installed boss of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), who said that if there was proof the test results were wiped then Russia should be banned from competing at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s critical that this issue be dealt with and be dealt with swiftly in order to protect the integrity of doping globally,’’ ASADA chief executive David Sharpe told News Corp.

“But at the same time, WADA is obviously dealing with a very complex issue and particularly the compliance review committee have given the three week notice to Russia to remedy the issues they identified around data.

Gold medallist Ivan Ukhov of Russia on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's High Jump at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ve got the original issue of systemic doping and that was managed in one way with certain conditions that needed to be met.

“They were reinstated on the basis of those conditions were met. But if one of those conditions has been manipulated, which is what has been suggested, I would suggest it would need to be the hardest response and that’s removal from the Olympics.

“If the evidence exists that data has been manipulated before it was provided to WADA for review, I would support the strongest actions of WADA coming down on them.’’

A ruling from WADA is not due until later this month, but it would appear even senior Russia sports bosses have accepted their fate.

Russia’s anti-doping chief Yuri Ganus last week said because of the acts of unnamed officials in doctoring the WADA data, the country was set to be banned at the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“Russia’s Olympic squad will be prevented from participating fully in the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” he said.

“I think that this will also happen at the (Winter Olympic) Games in China.”

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ASADA boss David Sharpe says the issue needs to be dealt with immediately. Picture Gary Ramage

The altered data appears to have been exposed by a whistleblower who handed over official data in 2017, while Russia was still banned from competing.

About 100 Russian athletes had been banned from the Rio Games after the state-sponsored scheme was uncovered, although a small number of competitors who were able to prove they were clean were able to take part, but not representing Russia.

The new data was supplied by RUSADA to bolster its argument that the country should be able to return to the international fold.

Allegations that Russia cheats at sport are nothing new and the country has handed back 51 Olympic medals, which is four times the number of second-placed offender, Belarus.

An Australian Senate review from 1989 decried the country’s suspect performance in the 1980 Olympics.

“There is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner, who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds,” the report said.

“The Moscow Games might as well have been called the Chemists’ Games.”

There are many reasons why Russia cheats at sport and the fact that it historically trails only the United States in Olympic medal accumulation is one of the main ones.

The old Cold War rivalry that sparked the space-race and continues to this day now plays out through increasingly bold and threatening cyber warfare.

According to former FBI agent Naveed Jamali, who wrote about his time as a double agent with the KGB in his book How To Catch a Russian Spy, the motivation for growing government-backed hacking attacks on foreign governments and agencies comes down to a singular hunger for supremacy.

“No longer are the Russians motivated by communist ideology,” Mr Jamali wrote in the foreword of his book.

“Power, money, and domination – that’s what they thirst for now. Their ruthlessness and craftiness haven’t diminished one iota. They’ve grown bolder.”

Originally published as ‘Inconsistencies’ in Russian doping tests raise fears of manipulation