Reedie re-elected as WADA President

Reedie re-elected as WADA President

November 21, 2016
International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive member and current president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Craig Reedie, speaks during a news conference following the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Glasgow Sunday. — AFP
International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive member and current president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Craig Reedie, speaks during a news conference following the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Glasgow Sunday. — AFP

GLASGOW — Craig Reedie has been re-elected for a second three-year term as president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the organization said on its Twitter account Sunday.


Reedie, 75, has been involved with WADA since its foundation in 1999 and was elected its third president in 2013.


He had faced stinging criticism from national Olympic committees days before he stood for re-election for WADA's handling of the Russian doping scandal in the build-up to the 2016 Rio Games.


He had to defend the timing of the release of part of the so-called McLaren report into doping in Russia shortly before the August Games. The report uncovered systematic state-sponsored doping in Russia.


An IOC spokesperson confirmed last week that it had held talks with Reedie about appointing a "neutral" president in future "for the sake of the credibility and good governance of WADA".


Full McLaren report on Dec. 9


The second part of Richard McLaren's report that revealed widespread state-backed doping in Russia is to be released on Dec. 9, the World Anti-Doping Agency said Sunday.


WADA director-general Olivier Niggli, speaking after the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Glasgow, confirmed the date, which comes after the Dec. 6-8 International Olympic Committee executive committee meeting in Lausanne.


WADA commissioned the two-part report from Canadian law professor McLaren, the first to determine the facts with respect to allegations of Russian state manipulation of the doping control process made by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow.


McLaren found evidence of a government-backed scheme in Russia said to include tampering with doping tests at their home Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.


Thirty sports were caught up in the controversy, leading to a ban on Russian athletics from international competition and the ban of dozens of Russian competitors in a variety of sports at the Rio Olympics this year.


WADA has not said what the second part of the McLaren's report would focus on although Russian doping will again be targetted.


Russia has denied accusations of state-sanctioned doping and is fighting to get back into international athletics.


November 21, 2016
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