An Olympic champion has stepped down from a key World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) review panel a day after their surprising recommendation to reinstate Russia's anti-doping agency.
Beckie Scott, who is one of the most high-profile athletes in the anti-doping movement, told The Associated Press she has left her position on the WADA six-person compliance review committee.
Her departure came after WADA made changes to some of the most stringent requirements to bring RUSADA back into compliance after a nearly three-year suspension.
The WADA executive committee meets next week to decide whether to accept the review panel's recommendation.
WADA softened a demand that Russia accept the findings of an investigation by Richard McLaren, which concluded that its government directed an intricate doping scheme that led to the country winning Olympic medals.
In place of that requirement, WADA asked Russia to accept findings from the IOC-appointed Schmid Commission, which took a less-harsh view of the Russian government's role in the scheme.
Russia also has agreed to turn over data and doping samples that could help corroborate positive tests, though no firm date has been set.
The review panel urged the executive committee to get assurances from Russia's sports ministry.
When WADA announced the review panel's decision Friday, it came under fire from athletes and anti-doping leaders around the world, who decried, among other things, the agency's lack of transparency.
In an email sent to media that linked to the letters, WADA said it "has been leading the drive to ensure that Russia meets the Roadmap in full."
One of WADA's reworked requirements was that instead of publicly accepting findings from the McLaren Report, Russia specifically accept a finding in the Schmid report that stated "a number of individuals within the Ministry of Sport and its subordinated entities' were involved in the 'manipulations'."
Russia's ultimate response, in a letter sent by Kolobkov on Thursday: "The Russian Federation fully accepted the decision of the IOC Executive Board ... that was made based on the findings of the Schmid report." The review panel deemed that acceptable.
Regarding the data and samples, Kolobkov wrote that Russia would facilitate handing them over "After the reinstatement of RUSADA and the consent of the Russian Investigative Committee".
WADA, in its email, said if the data isn't provided within a strict time limit, then the review committee will recommend to the executive committee that RUSADA be again declared noncompliant.
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