WADA has said it believes the hackers gained access to its anti-doping administration and management system (ADAMS) via an IOC-created account for the Rio Games.
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But speaking to journalists at the UEFA congress in Athens on Wednesday, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko denied any state involvement in the hacking, and said his country was also a victim of the attacks.
WADA has said it believes the hack to be a retaliation for its investigations into Russian state-backed doping programs, as well as for Olympic bans imposed on nearly the entire Russian track and field team and an outright ban for all athletes from the Paralympics.
“Our cyclists have sent a letter of the IOC, WADA and UCI where they demand the setting-up of an global commission to scrutinise Rodchenkov’s claims cited in the report by Richard McClaren and exclusion of Rodchenkov’s evidence from the report if the experts don’t recognise the claims as grounded ones”, sports lawyer Artyom Patsev, who represents the athletes, wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
WADA has blamed a Russian group and has approached the country’s Government to assist it in its investigation.
The first batch of documents was published by the hacker group on Tuesday, containing personal data of four American athletes – gymnast Simone Biles, tennis players Serena and Venus Willians and basketball player Elena Delle Donne.
Froome’s two TUEs were for short courses of prednisolone, a steroid used to treat acute chest complaints, in 2013 and 2014.
Froome said that he had “no issues” with the leaks, pointing out he has spoken publicly about being granted TUEs before.
Wiggins was given injections of triamcinolone acetonide, a strong corticosteroid.
“We condemn this criminal activity and have asked the Russian Government to do everything in their power to make it stop”, said WADA director-general Olivier Niggli.
“His medical treatment is BC- (British Cycling) and UCI- (International Cycling Union) approved and like all Team GB athletes he follows WADA regulations to the letter”.
Three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, whose medical records were made public yesterday, defended his right to a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).
“Continued cyber-attacks emanating from Russian Federation seriously undermine the work that is being carried out to rebuild a compliant anti-doping programme in Russian Federation”.
“Not only does it undermine our work and the protection of clean sport, but it is grossly unfair to the athletes”, she said.
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“We are working hard with WADA to urgently determine what impact, if any, this may have on other British athletes and exactly what information may have been compromised”, said UKAD.
