By Dan Palmer |
Russia has appointed Igor Sidorkevich as Deputy Sports Minister and placed him charge of the country’s National Anti-Doping Plan.
The 55-year-old previously headed the Russian Military Police and is a two-time sambo world champion.
His doping role will be seen as key with Russia desperate to restore their reputation following the systematic manipulation of the drug testing system at their home Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
The country were ordered to compete under a neutral flag at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics in February and they remain banned by both the International Paralympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency is also non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as the country has not met WADA’s two outstanding criteria for reinstatement.
These are acceptance of the findings of the McLaren Report – which outlined much of the evidence against Russia – and full access to the Moscow Laboratory.
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.Â