Russian athletes 'obstructing testers', WADA report says
Last Updated: 16/06/16 10:09am
Doping control officers in Russia have faced widespread obstruction this year, according to a damning new World Anti-Doping Agency report.
The 23-page "update on the status of Russia testing" says 736 attempted tests since February have been "cancelled or declined" and outlines a range of ways athletes have sought to avoid testing.
These include instances of athletes running away from testers, officials being threatened and one female athlete attempting to give a sample of clean urine from a hidden device.
Military cities were often given as a place of residence by athletes seeking to avoid drug testers because of the difficulty in gaining access to the areas, the report said.
The report appeared on the WADA website two days before athletics' governing body meets to decide whether Russian athletes - currently banned from competing - can go to this summer's Olympic Games.
Russian's own anti-doping agency was suspended along with its athletes in November following an independent investigation into allegations of widespread doping.
The UK Anti-Doping has been overseeing testing in Russia since February.
A series of new anti-doping measures have been announced since December, but the latest WADA report has been passed to an IAAF task force set up to verify Russia's compliance with drug-testing rules.
