WADA pushes Russia doping decision to December

MONTREAL (AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has received responses to follow-up questions asked of Russian authorities regarding altered lab data and hopes to have the case resolved before president Craig Reedie’s term expires at the end of the year.

In September, WADA gave the Russians three weeks to explain the discrepancies in data being used to corroborate doping cases stemming from the country’s scheme to cheat during the Sochi Olympics and other events. But those explanations brought about further questions.

On Monday, WADA acknowledged that it now expects its compliance review committee to make a recommendation on the case at the end of November, and if that happens, the WADA executive committee could rule by the end of the year.

It means a decision on the status of Russia’s anti-doping agency won’t come next week at the WADA board meeting and world anti-doping conference, when it was originally expected.