Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) Invitation Review Panel releases list of information used as part of its deliberations
The OAR Invitation Review Panel today released a summary of some of the key elements of information used by the Panel during its deliberations, which determined the pool of Russian athletes who could be invited by the IOC to take part in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 as OARs.
The Panel determined that the time was now right to publish the information used, following a meeting between the IOC and representatives of the suspended Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) during which the final list of athletes who can be invited was shared by the IOC; and this will, on 27 January, be confirmed by the OAR Chef de Mission at the OAR Delegation Registration Meeting in PyeongChang. Only athletes who have fulfilled the Pre-Games Testing requirements (including additional ones decided by the Panel), as well as the required reanalysis from stored samples, will be accredited for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
The Panel, which is chaired by Dr Valérie Fourneyron, the Chair of the International Testing Agency (ITA) and former French Sports Minister, includes Mr Günter Younger, Director of Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA); Mr Pedro Goncalves, GAISF DFSU Project Manager in charge of the Pre-Games Testing Task Force secretariat; and Dr Richard Budgett, Olympic rowing champion and IOC Medical and Scientific Director. The role of the Panel was to make sure that only athletes from Russia who were considered clean could be invited to participate in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
“The list on which the Invitation Review Panel based its considerations (below) covers a wide range of information,” said Dr Fourneyron. “It includes, for example, evidence of suspicious Steroid Profile values, DNA inconsistencies and irregularities of the Athlete Biological Passport, as well as evidence provided by the McLaren and Schmid Reports and the Disciplinary Commission of Denis Oswald; information provided by various departments of WADA; and intelligence provided by Olympic Winter Sports Federations and the Pre-Games Testing Taskforce. Overall, it is comprehensive but by no means exhaustive; and I would like to stress that we also looked at a wide range of intelligence and other sources. Additionally, all our decisions were taken by consensus of the Panel, and each case was considered individually and with anonymity,” she added.
In its 5 December 2017 decision, the IOC Executive Board deliberately did not limit this Independent Panel to a list of criteria to determine the invitation list, and entrusted this group to use all the available information and intelligence at its disposal. In addition, on 19 January 2018, the Panel and the Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group (OARIG), chaired by Ms Nicole Hoevertsz, formally approved the pool of athletes who could be considered for invitation, which had been submitted by the Panel.
More information on the OARIG decision from 19 January can be found here.
OAR PANEL REVIEW: Summary of information used by the Panel
|
Information |
Description |
|
Oswald Commission |
Whenever an athlete has been sanctioned by the Oswald Commission |
|
Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) history |
Any previous ADRV resulting in a suspension at any stage of the athlete’s career |
|
Duchess List |
According to the McLaren Investigation Report, the “Duchess List” was a list of selected athletes who were automatically subject to protection and linked with receiving the “Duchess Cocktail” (oxandrolone, methenolone and trenbolone). |
|
LIMS analysis |
On 30 October 2017, WADA’s I&I secured the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) database for the Moscow anti-doping centre (Moscow Laboratory) containing data from between 2012 and August 2015. The LIMS was reconstructed by a WADA forensic expert and then subjected to a rigorous authentication process to confirm its accuracy. The LIMS analysis allowed WADA to identify those samples that, despite showing prohibited substances or abnormal concentration values, were reported as “Negative” or not reported at all in the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS). This additional intelligence has been provided to the respective International Federations. |
|
Relevant Emails |
The McLaren Investigation Report identified, and publicly disclosed, a large number of emails which detail the “Disappearing Positive Methodology” and Sample Swapping. |
|
Scratches & Marks |
Based on the McLaren Investigation, samples have been identified that were allegedly opened by the Federal Security Service (FSB) during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 and have been investigated by the IOC. |
|
Salt Analysis |
Based on the McLaren Investigation, samples have been re-analysed and concentrations have been found that were physiologically impossible for a human being. The results established that the urine contents were either swapped or tampered with. |
|
Urine Bank |
Based on the McLaren Investigation, names of Russian athletes have been identified who were protected from positive tests. Clean urine was collected from the athletes concerned and then swapped at the Moscow Laboratory. |
|
DNA Inconsistencies |
Based on the McLaren Investigation, samples have been re-analysed and different DNA has been found in the samples. |
|
Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) |
A WADA ABP expert has individually reviewed the ABP passport of the 500 Russian athletes originally proposed by the ROC (before its suspension) as the long list of athletes for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. |
|
Steroid Profile Analysis |
Evidence of cases with highly suspicious Steroid Profile values was considered in the context of gender and sport. This information has been exclusively extracted from the secured LIMS database for the Panel. The complete results will be provided to the International Federations in the coming days. |
|
Steroid Profile Manipulation |
Evidence of Steroid Profile manipulation by the Moscow laboratory (i.e. discrepancy between the data reported in ADAMS and LIMS) in order to hide and modify the Steroid Profile values. This information has been exclusively extracted from the secured LIMS database for the Panel. The complete results will be provided to the International Federations in the coming days. |
|
WADA OOCTP |
WADA re-analysis programme of all available samples from Russian athletes with the priority focus on the 500 Russian athletes originally proposed by the ROC (before its suspension) as the long list of athletes for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 |
|
ADAMS Whereabouts |
500 Russian athletes have been cross-checked with ADAMS to identify serious Whereabouts failures. |
|
Pre-Games Task Force Recommendations |
The programme involves a recommendation on minimum levels of testing on prospective athletes, based on specific risk assessments (sport, discipline, RTP, etc.) and with mandatory individual testing requirements for Russian athletes. |
|
Additional Complementary Intelligence from IFs |
Additional intelligence provided by International Winter Federations regarding athletes and/or support personnel |
|
Additional Confidential Information provided by WADA |
Intelligence extracted from WADA’s “Speak-up” whistleblower programme and other sources |
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