CAS to hear high-stakes Russia case in November

A sign with the logo of the Russian antidoping agency RUSADA is seen on a building housing its offices in Moscow on December 9 2019 The World AntiDoping Agency on December 9 2019 banned Russia from global sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after accusing Moscow of falsifying data from an antidoping laboratory Photo by Alexander NEMENOV AFP Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOVAFP via Getty Images
(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Tuesday the dates for the high-stakes case to decide if Russia will be banned for four years from competing as a country in the Olympic Games and World Championships and from hosting major competitions. The court will hear evidence in the case between November 2-5 this year.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recommended a four-year ban on Russia in December after the country failed to abide by conditions of a reinstatement agreement.

WADA required the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to hand over all of the data from its Moscow laboratory - the one involved in covering up doping positives. But when the data was belatedly provided to WADA, investigators discovered evidence it had been tampered with.

If CAS decides against Russia, its athletes will be forced to compete as independents in any major events and it will be prevented from hosting international championships.

In April, WADA announced it had reported the names of 298 Russian athletes to 28 different anti-doping organisations and supplied dossiers of evidence of possible anti-doping rule violations.

The UCI said in December that Russians hoping to participate in the Olympic Games and World Championships "will need to prove their integrity on an individual basis".

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