“Not true”: the Ministry of Sports did not confirm the employee’s involvement in the changes to the database

"This information is not true."

The Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation denied the involvement of system administrator Yevgeny Mochalov in the changes to the database of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory.

“This information is not true. The Ministry of Sports did not come out with any evidence that Mochalov made changes to the base, ”representatives of the agency told RT.

On the eve of the media there was information that the Russian side confirmed information about the fraud allegedly occurred on the eve of the visit of employees of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

It was reported that on December 17, 2018, the spouse of the head of the laboratory, Elena Mochalova, deleted some of the latest data in the system. At the disposal of the special commission was information dated November 2015. It was during this period that the former head of the organization Grigory Rodchenkov left his post.

According to TASS, citing the report of the WADA Compliance Committee, such fraud continued until January 2019, although the first information about the substitution of samples was confirmed in a report by Richard McLaren back in 2016.

“Further significant deletions and / or changes were made in December 2018 and January 2019, before the Moscow data was provided to the WADA team for copying. These actions were hidden by the dating of computer systems and files in an attempt to create the impression that the information has been in their current state since 2015, ”the report says.

It is assumed that possible frauds contributed to the concealment of doping samples 145 of 298 Russian athletes. WADA is currently conducting checks on the surviving data. According to TASS, 41 weightlifters, two taekwondoists, one wrestler and one canoeist were suspected of using illegal drugs. Relevant documents were transferred to international federations.

However, the Russian Weightlifting Federation (FTAR) stated that so far they have not received any documents on new doping cases in relation to domestic weightlifters.

“We did not receive information on new cases. So far, we only know about 12 athletes, information on which was published back in August, ”said the president of the FTR and member of the executive committee of the international federation Maxim Agapitov.

Also clarified information about the mentioned canoe. The International Canoe Federation (ICF) said they had already disqualified it.

“We received information from WADA about the former Russian athlete, but he has already been disqualified by us for four years,” the organization emphasized.

The name of the canoeist is not disclosed, but we can talk about the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games 2012 Aleksey Korovashkov, who last year was just disqualified for four years.

Doubts about Rodchenkov

Another serious violation is an attempt to transfer responsibility for data hiding to Rodchenkova. The Russian side insisted that fraud in the Moscow laboratory was part of his scheme to extort money from athletes. As evidence was given his correspondence with the deputy Timofey Sobolevsky. However, the investigation revealed that it was falsified, media reported.

The report states that the data entered by Rodchenkov into the alternative LIMS system are fully consistent with the initial information of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory.

“In addition, in December 2017, a commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by Samuel Schmid, concluded that the 2015 LIMS database is one of the“ independent and impartial evidence "that" confirms the existence of a methodology for the loss of positive results, and falsification techniques, as described in Professor McLaren’s final report, ”the compliance committee said.

The meeting of the WADA executive committee, which will decide the fate of Russian sports, will be held on December 9. Initially, Paris was chosen as the venue, but due to strikes it was moved to Lausanne. The integrity of the Moscow laboratory database was one of the main requirements for the restoration of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). In connection with the identification of numerous violations, the compliance committee recommended that Russia be barred from international competitions for four years, as well as deprived of the right to host major tournaments on its territory.

RUSADA Director General Yuri Ganus suggested that Russia can avoid punishment only if it fully admits the fact of fraud and finds guilty.

“Much will depend on the decisions that WADA will take.”

Meanwhile, Russia expressed the hope that domestic athletes will be able to take part in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In particular, the honorary president of the ROC, Alexander Zhukov, announced this.

“It is difficult for me to judge the situation, I am now observing it from the side. There are many similar things between what happened before Rio de Janeiro and Pyeongchang. There is a lot of pressure on Russian sports. Of course, much will depend on the decisions made by WADA, but even more on the IOC. I hope that our athletes will have the opportunity to fully participate in all international competitions, ”the R-Sport functionary quotes.

And the Federation of Russian Gymnastics (FSGR) expressed confidence that the ROC and the Ministry of Sports will do everything possible to ensure that domestic athletes are represented at the Olympic Games 2020.

“The President of the Federation expressed confidence that the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the Olympic Committee of Russia will do everything possible to ensure the full and full participation of Russian athletes in the upcoming Games. Vasily Titov emphasized that there was not a single case of anti-doping rule violation in Russian gymnastics, ”the FSGR press release said.

Finally, the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) spoke about the possible transfer of the World Cup 2023 from Russia. The functionary admitted that this was not possible.

“We need to wait for the official decision of WADA. Then there will be comments. I have already expressed my position. It will be difficult, in other words, it is impossible to change the location of the World Cup. The same applies to the youth world championships, and in either case it is impossible to change the venue. We expect both tournaments to be held in Russia, ”RIA Novosti quoted Fasel as saying.