ITA report on IWF: Anti-Doping Rule Violations and related allegations of misconduct from 2009 to 2019 : Final Report / International Testing Agency (ITA). - Lausanne : ITA, 2021
The International Testing Agency (ITA) has published a report on Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) following a series of allegations of misconduct by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), providing an overview of the findings of the investigation into approximately 146 unresolved cases over the 2009-2019 period. The report notably uncovers mishandling and impropriety on the part of certain IWF officials in relation to its anti-doping program. As a consequence of these discoveries, the ITA has – among other follow-up actions – asserted ADRVs against former IWF President Tamas Ajan, IWF Vice-President Nicolae Vlad, and Hassan Akkus, President of the European Weightlifting Confederation.
As background, allegations of misconduct by the IWF regarding its anti-doping program were uncovered and publicly exposed by different sources over the past 18 months. Following a documentary by the German broadcaster ARD, which conveyed allegations of financial and electoral corruption and unsanctioned doping offences under the auspices of the IWF, the IWF Executive Board appointed Professor Richard H. McLaren to carry out an investigation into these claims. Prof. McLaren’s resulting report uncovered irregularities in the IWF anti-doping program, including the discovery of a large number of unprocessed cases of ADRVs predating the delegation by the IWF of its anti-doping program to the ITA. Those cases were passed to the ITA for investigation and appropriate action where possible.
In October 2020, the Intelligence & Investigations Department of WADA (WADA I&I) issued a public report to convey its work into the IWF since 2017. The document described four investigations which looked into wrongdoings related to anti-doping practices in the sport of weightlifting, including “Operation Arrow” pertaining to the practice of urine substitution by athletes and the use of doppelgängers within the sport of weightlifting.
Over the course of the past eight months, the ITA has gathered and reviewed evidence and conducted interviews with interested parties and whistleblowers with the aim to draw evidence-based conclusions only. The ITA was hampered by the depth and breadth of the IWF’s past years of inaction, which resulted into 29 unsanctioned doping violations being impossible to prosecute due to statute of limitation and/or destruction of evidence. The reasons why these cases were unprocessed and/or unsanctioned, ranged from mere administrative oversight, poor record keeping, chaotic organisational processes, or jurisdictional errors – on one end of the spectrum – to indifference, outright negligence, complicity, or – at worst – blatant and intentional cover-ups.
Over the course of the ITA investigation, it transpired that some IWF and national Member Federation officials had themselves also committed ADRVs of complicity and tampering in relation to certain cases. In the scope of the ITA’s mandate to vigorously pursue all potential ADRVs under the IWF’s jurisdiction, the ITA has thus asserted ADRVs against current and former IWF officials Tamas Ajan, former IWF President, Nicolae Vlad IWF Vice-President and current President of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation and Hassan Akkus, President of the European Weightlifting Confederation and former President of the Turkish Weightlifting Federation. The exact charges and evidence against these three officials are detailed in the ITA report and include covering up, delaying and obstructing results management for certain athletes that committed ADRVs in order for them to participate in high-level sporting events such as the Olympic Games and collusion to avoid potential fines and suspensions.
The ITA has also followed up on many of the doping allegations initially exposed by the ARD documentary and has launched proceedings against athletes for urine sample manipulation based on cases passed on by WADA I&I. It has also identified a number of action items that could help further reinforce the global anti-doping system and will be liaising with WADA as the global anti-doping regulator to address these constraints. The ITA suggests encouraging the systematic storage and re-analysis of samples, and that special attention is given to other key areas such as whereabouts management, identity management, ADAMS access, results management follow-ups, doping control officers’ supervision and certification, and an intelligence-based approach to anti-doping.
Whilst this large-scale investigation necessarily triggers other investigations and follow up actions by the ITA, it is ITA’s belief and intent that this report will enable the IWF to get to the bottom of the past misconduct, fix its issues and focus on the development of its sport and promotion of its athletes while the ITA ensures professional and independent anti-doping operations free from any political, national or sporting interests.
