– I am very disappointed on behalf of all clean athletes, and those who fight for clean sport. It’s absolutely impossible for me to support this. We have no guarantee that we will gain access to samples and data. And neither did it admit that institutionalized doping had been used, said Linda Hofstad Helleland.

It was confirmed today by WADA President, Craig Reedie, that RUSADA will be readmitted to the World Anti-Doping Agency.

RUSADA said in a statement that it was very pleased with the decision.

– There is progress in our cooperation, and we are open to continuing collaboration.

– Over the past two years, Rusada has done a lot of work to create a new organization that meets the best international standards of transparency and independence. And the most important thing is that our athletes get the opportunity to participate in competitions on the same terms as other athletes, RUSADA spokesman Aleksandr Ivlev told Russian media.

Hofstad Helleland is vice president of Wada and was one of twelve council members who took part in the vote in Seychelles.

According to the website Insidethegames, Russia has been readmitted with nine votes in favor. Two people voted against. One council member abstained from voting.

Therefore, today’s decision is a defeat for the Norwegian vice president.

– There are many athletes around the world who are disappointed today, as are the Anti-Doping Agency and many authorities. They want Wada to defend the terms and guidelines that we have clearly stated that we will support, before any agreement. “To me, this is a dark day for anti-doping efforts and the strength we need to clean up international sport,” Helleland said.

– Waste of money

Lawyers for the former director of the Moscow laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, also pointed the finger at WADA.

– WADA’s decision to reinstate Russia is the greatest betrayal of clean athletes in Olympic history, said Jim Walden in his statement about the decision.

The lawyer’s message continued with clear recommendations to the United States.

“The US is wasting money by continuing to fund WADA, which has clearly failed to address doping by the Russian government. The only way to address corruption in Russia is for Congress to pass the Rodchenkov anti-doping recommendations, which would give the Department of Justice the tools necessary to put those involved in doping behind bars, where they belong.”

It was Wada’s independent Compliance Committee (CRC) that recommended that Wada reinstate the Russians.

According to the website Insidethegames, Russia has been readmitted with nine votes in favor. Two people voted against. One council member abstained from voting.

Background:

Kicked out after Sochi

This means that Wada’s exclusion of Russia has been revoked.

The Russian Anti-Doping Organization was expelled by Wada in August 2015 due to revelations of widespread, state-controlled doping. Wada now believes Russia acted in accordance with international anti-doping regulations.

Ahead of Thursday’s council meeting in Seychelles, a number of national federations, including Norwegian Anti-Doping, have expressed clear opposition to Russia being reincorporated into the World Anti-Doping Agency.

– The process is bad

– This undermines confidence in Wada and international anti-doping efforts. This must be resolved quickly, Norway’s Anti-Doping chief, Anders Solheim, said before Thursday’s decision.

– This process is bad, said the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, according to the Reuters news agency.

On Tuesday, there was also a joint statement from anti-doping leaders in 13 countries, including Norway, in which they reacted strongly to the recommendation to lift the ban on Russia.

Changed according to requirements

One of the conditions for Russia to return to competition is full access to reports and samples from a doping laboratory in Moscow, as well as acknowledgment of McLaren’s report. The report revealed that Russian athletes had participated in the country’s doping program.

The terms were later changed by Wada to require Russia to recognize the Schmid Commission report.

Schmid’s report did not state directly that state-controlled doping had occurred. Rather, it places responsibility on the individuals named in the Russian system.