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Russia promises reform at Moscow lab

Russia says WADA reforms will be made at a Moscow lab threatened with suspension, and will improve the reliability of results by the December deadline.

Russia's sports minister Vitali Mutko has promised that necessary reforms will be made at a Moscow laboratory threatened with suspension by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) just months before the Winter Olympics.

WADA has provisionally suspended the accreditation of the laboratory in the Russian capital of the right to test athletes because of questions over the quality of their procedures.

Mutko insisted the reforms would be made at the lab which has until December 1 to improve the reliability of their results.

"We have received an official letter from WADA with its recommendations. One of them requires that at least three international experts be engaged," said Mutko.

"These recommendations will obviously be applied ... there is no problem," said the Russian minister quoted by Ria Novosti news agency.

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"WADA systematically makes objections and proposals to doping centres to improve laboratory efficiency," he added.

The Moscow lab has a first deadline of December 1 to bring in independent "quality management" experts to "allow everyone to be confident of the accuracy and reliability of results moving forward," WADA said in a statement.

WADA has also imposed a second deadline of April 1, 2014, when the lab must ensure that program of improvement has been "drafted, finalised, implemented and embedded".

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says they are confident the Russian doping lab can carry out tests during the Sochi Games from February 7-23 despite being threatened with suspension.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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