A Russian hacking group that is claiming to have accessed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) database, is now alleging that tennis superstars, Serena and Venus Williams, as well as four-time Rio Olympics gold medallist gymnast, Simone Biles, were allowed to consume banned substances.
The hacking site, Fancy Bears, leaked dozens of files allegedly relating to United States athletes on the internet. WADA confirmed the hack in a statement.
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The statement on Wada’s website read: “The group accessed athlete data, including confidential medical data – such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions delivered by International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) – related to the Rio Games; and, subsequently released some of the data in the public domain, accompanied by the threat that they will release more.
“While it is an evolving situation, at present, we believe that access to ADAMS was obtained through spear phishing of email accounts; whereby, ADAMS passwords were obtained enabling access to ADAMS account information confined to the Rio 2016 Games. At present, we have no reason to believe that other ADAMS data has been compromised.”
“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, Wada’s director general. “We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted.”
The leaked documents revealed that Serena was allowed to take banned substances such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, prednisone and methylprednisolone in 2010, 2014 and 2015.
The hacking site also claimed that Simone Biles failed a doping test yet avoided disqualification.
Serena’s sister Venus was allowed to take prednisone, prednisolone and triamcinolone among others in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The documents do not reveal the diagnoses of the athletes which led to WADA allowing them to take the substances.
Simone Biles tested positive for methylphenidate in August, but she was not disqualified. In 2013 and 2014, she was allowed to take dextroamphetamine.
Simone Biles, also a ten-time world championships gold medallist, tested positive in August 2016.
“After detailed studying of the hacked WADA databases we figured out that dozens of American athletes had tested positive,” the Fancy Bears’ group claimed on its website.
“The Rio Olympic medallists regularly used illicit strong drugs justified by certificates of approval for therapeutic use,” it said.
“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.”
“As predicted, the USA dominated the 2016 Olympics medal count with 46 gold, 37 silver, 38 bronze for 121 total,” Fancy Bears’ continued.
“The US team played well but not fair.”
The site also claimed American basketball star Elena Delle Donne’s drug test revealed that she had also used amphetamine. In addition, since 2014 she has been taking hydrocortisone that is also classified as doping.
The entire Russian athletics team was barred from competing in Rio after systemic doping breaches were exposed earlier this year.
Since then, several hacking groups have threatened to hack WADA. h/t abplive