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Dozens of American Olympic Athletes Tested Positive for Performance-Enhancing Drugs According to Russian Hackers
Dozens of American Olympic athletes allegedly failed anti-doping tests at the the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro according to a group of Russian hackers known as the Tsar Team (APT28) or “Fancy Bear”. Fancy Bear released documents alleging that gymnast Simone Biles and basketball player Elena Delle Donne used amphetamines while tennis superstar Serena Williams used oxycodone and hydropmorphone.
The American athletes' drug use and positive tests were not publicly disclosed because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had given them explicit permission to use the drugs for therapeutic purposes. Fancy Bear has threatened to release the medical records and therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for all other American athletes who tested positive for banned PEDs.
Fancy Bear apparently accessed the confidential medical data for all athletes listed in the WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database. It has chosen to target American athletes first for public disclosure due to the country's dominance at the 2016 Olympics. It will later release information on PED positives from athletes in other countries.
Fancy Bear published the following notice on its website:
“After detailed studying of the hacked WADA databases we figured out that dozens of American athletes had tested positive. The Rio Olympic medalists regularly used illicit strong drugs justified by certificates of approval for therapeutic use. In other words they just got their licenses for doping. This is other evidence that WADA and IOC's Medical and Scientific Department are corrupt and deceitful.”
WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stressed that Biles, Delle Donne and Williams had done nothing wrong. In fact, the athletes carefully and respectfully followed all rules outlined by their sports federations, USADA and WADA.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart defended the American athletes identified by Fancy Bear.
"In each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication," Tygart said in a statement. "The cyber-bullying of innocent athletes being engaged by these hackers is cowardly and despicable."
WADA Director General Olivier Niggli also criticized the Russian hackers for disclosing private and confidential medical information that was never intended to go public.
“WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted,” Niggli said.
Niggli also suggested that the the Fancy Bear cyber-attack was done to undermine WADA's anti-doping efforts.
“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system,” said Niggli. “WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia. Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia further to the outcomes of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report.”
The hacking of WADA's database originating out of Russia is thought to be an act of retaliation against the anti-doping body for its recommendations to ban the entire Russian team from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Dozens of American Olympic athletes allegedly failed anti-doping tests at the the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro according to a group of Russian hackers known as the Tsar Team (APT28) or “Fancy Bear”. Fancy Bear released documents alleging that gymnast Simone Biles and basketball player Elena Delle Donne used amphetamines while tennis superstar Serena Williams used oxycodone and hydropmorphone.
The American athletes' drug use and positive tests were not publicly disclosed because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had given them explicit permission to use the drugs for therapeutic purposes. Fancy Bear has threatened to release the medical records and therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for all other American athletes who tested positive for banned PEDs.
Fancy Bear apparently accessed the confidential medical data for all athletes listed in the WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database. It has chosen to target American athletes first for public disclosure due to the country's dominance at the 2016 Olympics. It will later release information on PED positives from athletes in other countries.
Fancy Bear published the following notice on its website:
“After detailed studying of the hacked WADA databases we figured out that dozens of American athletes had tested positive. The Rio Olympic medalists regularly used illicit strong drugs justified by certificates of approval for therapeutic use. In other words they just got their licenses for doping. This is other evidence that WADA and IOC's Medical and Scientific Department are corrupt and deceitful.”
WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stressed that Biles, Delle Donne and Williams had done nothing wrong. In fact, the athletes carefully and respectfully followed all rules outlined by their sports federations, USADA and WADA.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart defended the American athletes identified by Fancy Bear.
"In each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication," Tygart said in a statement. "The cyber-bullying of innocent athletes being engaged by these hackers is cowardly and despicable."
WADA Director General Olivier Niggli also criticized the Russian hackers for disclosing private and confidential medical information that was never intended to go public.
“WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted,” Niggli said.
Niggli also suggested that the the Fancy Bear cyber-attack was done to undermine WADA's anti-doping efforts.
“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system,” said Niggli. “WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia. Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia further to the outcomes of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report.”
The hacking of WADA's database originating out of Russia is thought to be an act of retaliation against the anti-doping body for its recommendations to ban the entire Russian team from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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