Three-time Tour de France champion Froome, among those whose medical record was leaked, defended his right to a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).
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“I’ve openly discussed my TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) with the media and have no issues with the leak which confirms my statements”, three-time Tour de France victor Chris Froome said.
According to WADA, the account includes confidential medical data such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions, which are issued by sports federations and national anti-doping organizations to allow athletes to take certain substances.
The agency’s independent McLaren report, released in July, charged that Russians had swapped positive doping samples for clean ones during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, with the support of theRussian secret service.
RUSSIA’S sports minister yesterday denied there had been any Russian government involvement in the hacking of the World Anti-Doping Agency computer. In those instances, the athletes’ medical conditions and requirement for the medication is fully disclosed in advance of competition to WADA and there is an independent assessment undertaken of whether that use of the medication in those particular circumstances is appropriate and necessary.
It appears that the hackers used spear phishing to obtain ADAMS passwords. Given the high stakes at play in global sports and the damage that can be done to the integrity of the doping control system (not to mention national federations, worldwide federations and, most importantly, the athletes) by illegally accessing the information in WADA’s system, it was just a matter of time before hackers were successful at gaining entry.
Chris Froome is unconcerned by his personal data being leaked following a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) hack, stating it simply confirms what he had already made public.
“In nine years as a professional I’ve twice required a TUE for exacerbated asthma, the last time was in 2014”.
Niggli said WADA had “no doubt that these ongoing attacks are being carried out in retaliation against the agency, and the global anti-doping system”, because of independent investigations that exposed state-sponsored doping in Russian Federation.
On Tuesday, Americans Simone Biles, Elena Delle Donne and Serena and Venus Williams had details of their TUEs published by Fancy Bear.
These most recent attacks follow an earlier attempt to find the address of Russian doping whistle-blower Yulia Stepanova, who is now living in hiding in the United States with her family.
The spokesman said: “There’s nothing new here”. “Everyone knows Brad suffers from asthma; his medical treatment is BC (British Cycling) and UCI (International Cycling Union) approved”.
“As the situation evolves – as more information becomes available to us from WADA – we will continue to keep those affected updated”.
“It is important to note that in the United Kingdom, applications for Therapeutic Use Exemptions, TUEs, are subject to a strict and independent process”.
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UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) emphasised that TUEs were given only based on “medical need” and were “not an indication of doping”. Applications submitted to UKAD are assessed by at least three independent medics and are then referred to WADA, which has further independent oversight of applications.
