The list included British cyclists Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova and German discus thrower, Robert Harting.
Advertisement
The British Olympic Association is bracing itself for Russian hackers to leak the names of another 48 Team GB athletes who competed in Rio having held a current – or previously held – therapeutic use exemption (TUE), allowing them to use medication on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
The new leak from cyber criminal group known as “Tsar Team” and “Fancy Bear” affects 25 athletes, including 10 from the U.S., WADA said late Wednesday.
Thursday’s records included 10 USA athletes, five British athletes-including the victor of the Tour de France, Chris Froome-and competitors from six other countries, including one from Russian Federation.
The two latest leaks focus on athletes that have been granted Therapeutic Use Exception (TUE), which is the dispensation for the use of an otherwise banned substance that the athlete is required to take due to his or hers specific illness or condition.
Michelle Carter, a gold medalist shot putter, was among the top USA athletes whose information was included in this batch of records.
“We were told about “outrageous” Russian athletes who used meldonium which, as it subsequently turned out, can be excreted for up to a year and which does not have such a strong effect and does not add muscle mass”, he said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
Though the records showed no indication of wrongdoing, the records will likely raise questions about athlete performance.
“The athlete was also notified of this breach by UK Anti-Doping”, Votaw said.
While the West attempts to distract from the issue by baselessly accusing the Russian government of being behind the WADA hacks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted these allegations Tuesday.
Confidential medical data of gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and other female U.S. Olympians was hacked from a World Anti-Doping Agency database and posted online Tuesday Sept 13, 2016.
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) shares WADA and the other Anti-Doping Organisations condemnations of cyber-attacks to release personal data”.
Niggli also pointed out that the actions by the Russian hackers would make it very hard for the global sports community to trust Russia once again.
Harting, an avid and vociferous anti-doping campaigner, said on Twitter: “Me and the medical staff are fine with the leaked content”.
A “Doping Control” station at the Women’s Slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, which saw rampant state-sponsored doping.
The hacking group, known as APT28 and Fancy Bear by USA cyber-security researchers, was also blamed by WADA on Tuesday for posting medical data about U.S. athletes Simone Biles, Elena Delle Donne, and Serena and Venus Williams.
“Continued cyber-attacks emanating from Russian Federation seriously undermine the work that is being carried out to rebuild a compliant anti-doping program in Russian Federation”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) promised to help WADA communicate with Russian authorities over the data hack.
Advertisement
In a statement, WADA Director General Olivier Niggli expressed regret that “that criminals have attempted to smear [athletes’] reputations in this way” and said his organization’s previous recommendation that all Russian athletes be barred from participating in the Rio Games have likely made it a target.
