New Delhi:
World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) medical records on prominent international athletes which are generally kept under close guards have been easily made accessible to the public courtesy a group of hackers who hacked into the site of the World Anti- Doping Agency. The group of hackers call themselves 'Fancy Bears'.
The World Anti- Doping Agency has laid down stringent rules around doping or athletes taking banned performance enhancing substances. It has continuously been advocating that there is no room for cheats in the world of sport who try to improve their performances by taking banned drugs, as listed by the apex body.
The Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal and British Olympic great Mo Farah said they have nothing to hide after their medical records were the latest to be leaked by a cyber-hacking group. They are among more than 60 international athletes, including 17 from the British team at the Rio Olympics, who have had their medical files -- mostly therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) -- published online by the so-called 'Fancy bears'.
Legendary sportsmen who reached the very pinnacle of their careers are looked upon as goodwill ambassadors for their respective sport. If they take to banned substances, it not only tarnishes their popular image but dents the overall credibility of the sport.
In the past, some of the champions who were on the brink of reaching legendary status got involved into doping, which abruptly ended their promising sporting careers. Notable among them were Canadian ace sprinter Ben Johnson, US sprint queen Marion Jones and American cyclist Lance Armstrong.
There is no suggestion that any of the named athletes, among them some of the biggest names in sport, have done anything wrong. Spanish tennis ace Nadal and four-time Olympic champion distance runner Farah were shown to have used TUEs in the past to gain permission to take substances that figure on WADA's banned list. TUEs can be issued to athletes who have an illness or condition that requires the use of normally prohibited medication.
"When you ask permission to take something for therapeutic reasons and they give it to you, you're not taking anything prohibited," Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, told Spanish media. "It's not news, it's just inflammatory." Nadal, who has twice been granted a TUE, said he had never taken anything to improve his performance but took what doctors advised him was the best medication to care for his troublesome knee.
Far from complaining about the leak of his files -- believed to be the work of Russian hackers -- Nadal said he would support the publishing of all medical records.
"It would be much more beneficial for sportsmen and women, spectators and media that every time a drug test is taken the news is made public and two weeks later there are the results," he added. "This would end the problem. Sport has to take a step forward and be totally transparent. I have been saying this for years."
