WADA addressed the attack carried out by an alleged espionage group called “Fancy Bears”, who revealed the records, known as therapeutic use exemptions. “These criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia”, World Anti-Doping Agency director general Olivier Niggli said in a statement. Olivier Niggli, director general for WADA, reported that law enforcement tracked the hacking coming from Russian Federation.
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The hack comes following the ban of many Russian athletes from the Rio Olympic Games and the entire team from the Paralympics, which are underway in Brazil. The Olympic gymnastics champion responded by acknowledging that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), saying on social media that it is “nothing to be ashamed of”. But U.S.A. Gymnastics wrote in a statement that Biles had received an exemption since she takes it because of her medical condition, reports the Huffington Post.
“Simone has filed the proper paperwork per [U.S. Anti-Doping Agency] and WADA requirements, and there is no violation”, Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, said in a statement. “Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as air play is critical to sport and is very important to me”.
A proud member of the “Fab Five”, Simone took to Twitter ASAP to let people know why she was taking the medication. She, along with Elena Delle Donne and Serena and Venus Williams, had confidential information stored in the WADA database made public, following a computer hack the agency blamed on a Russian group linked to that country’s government. Just this August, hackers also access the medical records of Yuliya Stepanova, the Russian athlete connected to uncovering details of a state-sponsored doping scheme in Russia. The International Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns such methods which clearly aim at tarnishing the reputation of clean athletes”.
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Travis Tygart, who is now the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said, “The cyber-bullying of innocent athletes being engaged in by these hackers is cowardly and despicable”.
