The New York Times is reporting that a group of Russian hackers have compromised the World Anti-Doping Agency’s systems, leaking the medical information of tennis stars Serena Williams and Venus Williams and Rio gold medal gymnast Simone Biles.
The leaked documents showed that the three athletes received medical exemptions for drugs on the WADA banned list.
In a statement today, the WADA confirmed that the hackers belong to Russian cyber espionage group known as Fancy Bear. The group is thought to be connected with the Russian military intelligence agency suspected of stealing documents from the U.S. Democratic National Committee.
The group has threatened to release more of the confidential medical data.
“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system,” said WADA General Director Olivier Niggli. “WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia,” he continued. “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,” Niggli continued.
The New York Times did not name the exact drugs revealed in the leak (for privacy reasons), but Biles wrote on Twitter that her medication was prescribed for ADHD.
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 13, 2016
Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that I'm afraid to let people know.
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 13, 2016
USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny confirmed to the New York Times that Biles’ medication was pre-approved.
“Simone has filed the proper paperwork,” he said. “Simone and everyone at USA Gymnastics believe in the importance of a level playing field for all athletes.”
The WADA orginally announced on September 1st that they had been the victims of daily cyber attacks from a group of Russian hackers.
A spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin told the New York Times that the Kremlin was not behind the attacks.
If it was legal why she did not bark in the press before?national Disgrace druggies
New Fancy Bears TUEs leak:
John Conger, Aquatics, 1994 – Adderall. Kathleen Baker TUE for prednisone – Corticosteroid usually used to treat autoimmune diseases & some cancers. I’m aware she has Chrohn’s, but haven’t heard this drug as a treatment in the UK. Is it in the USA?
11 Americans names, 5 Brits (including Froome – Used TUEs twice for short periods over his career & Wiggins whose usage looked more… ‘extensive’), 5 Germans, numerous for other countries. Adderall common in usage it seems.
They MAY be exposing a bit of a scandal in sport.
Interesting, Serena Williams taking Prednisone, the same substance (I presume) used to treat Bakers Crohns – Which, to her credit, she has been very open about (Baker). Froome also used prednisone (for only 12 days during his career).
Serena also taking methylprednisone, hydromorphone & oxycodone. Four banned substances? Sorry, but that is cheating.
Also worth noting – Serena started taking a TUE 3 days before she was granted permission.
Dee – it is indicated to treat Crohn’s, as well as allergies and asthma. My guess is that there are a lot of people who have it as a TUE for allergies and asthma, though I couldn’t say for what purpose Kathleen is using it.
I see – In the UK, prednisone is only prescribed to treat acute cases of asthma, usually attacks or very short term basis for inflammation that pumps are not effective in treating (hence Froome only having it for 2 periods of 5 & 7 days).
I’m stunned that it’s as common as it appears to be in the US, although I read an article about an obsession US practitioners have with over-prescribing medication to children.
Thanks!
License to cheat:
there is a flip side of the coin: it follows that somebody has the official license to use PED and for a long time! Unilateral benefits of the longtime use (in case of Williams sisters – steroids and other hormones) for sport performances are evident.
It looks like the health of top athletes (as well as candidates to Presidents of the USA) is not their private matter anymore and they must be obliged to give the official statement of their health (health problems). That is how the problem must be treated in nearest future if we really want to have a clean, PED-free sport.
Let’s genotype everyone while we’re at it, and we can have a clean, PED-free, Aryan nation.
If anything, prednisolone, (the steroid in question, and related corticosteroids), is a performance destroying drug used long term. It’s catabolic, not anabolic. It looks like the Williams sisters used it for asthma (Venus) and possibly tendonitis/bursitis for very short use.
Not all steroids are the same. Look up iatrogenic Cushing’s disease and see what overdoing prednisone/prednisolone can do for you. That’s not exactly a bodybuilder look.
This not just about prednisolone. S. Williams as reported by hackers used to take oxycodone, hydrocortisone, prednisone, prednisolone and metilprednisolone.
None of those are performance enhancing and swim doc can concur. Olympic track and field 100 meter champion Shelly Fraser-pryce of Jamaica was positive for oxycodone in 2010 without even a TUE and it was thrown out by WADA because she took it after a dental procedure.
All of them are in the banned list, and oxycodone is narcotic treatment. No idea about Fraser case, but in many countries oxycodone is prescribed only during very serious conditions.
The other countries then prescribe other opiates for pain that is refractory to NSAIDs and tramadol. Again, narcotics may be on the banned list, but they’re not performance enhancing. They deteriorate performance. Pro football players playing through an injury get lidocaine injections, they don’t get doped up on narcotics for the game. If they did, they’d get killed because their reflexes and decision-making would be so impaired.
Just link to documents:
fancybear.net
😆 Hilarious Russia
Cold War version 2016
Disgusting American drug cheat.
Shame on Williams and Biles.
Therapeutic use of HGH makes sense for Biles…
Shouldn’t TUEs be public info for athletes in the Olympics? If Simone Biles is able to take a performance enhancing drug that the rest of the athletes are not allowed to take, don’t the others have the right to know this? I understand It would involve putting private medical information out into the public, but that seems like the most ethical approach.