RUSADA to appeal to CAS for ban on its athletes

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) said Friday it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ruling of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ban its athletes for four years.

In a letter to WADA, signed by its general director Yuri Ganus, RUSADA said that it has chosen Shellenberg Wittmer, a leading Swiss legal firm, to represent it in the court.

"In compliance with RUSADA bylaws, I have to inform you about the decision of the founding members of RUSADA (Russian Olympic Committee and Russian Paralympic Committee) about the disagreement of those organizations with WADA's formal notice of Dec. 9 2019 and sanctions and reinstatement conditions set out in the Notice," RUSADA said in the letter.

On Dec. 9, WADA Executive Committee endorsed the recommendation by the independent Compliance Review Committee that RUSADA be declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code for four years, which will prevent Russia from competing formally in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

According to the WADA ruling, over the next four years, only "clean" Russian athletes with the necessary medical proof will be allowed to participate in major sports events, and even then they will not be able to represent Russia. Russia will also be banned from hosting any major sports events.

RUSADA said it will continue its work in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and will fulfill its mission to protect the fundamental rights of athletes to participate in doping-free competitions.