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WADA Urges Russia To Admit State-Sponsored Doping


WADA President Craig Reedie was reelected unopposed for a second term on November 20.
WADA President Craig Reedie was reelected unopposed for a second term on November 20.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has urged Russia admit to state-sponsored doping in a bid to regain the trust of the sporting world.

The call came as WADA announced that the second part of an independent report on state-sponsored doping in Russia is to be released on December 9.

"It would be better if they were maybe a little bit more contrite," WADA President Craig Reedie said after being reelected unopposed for a second term on November 20.

Russia's new anti-doping chief, Vitaly Smirnov, told WADA the same day that the country had "never had a state-sponsored system of doping."

WADA had pushed for a complete ban on Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee decided instead to leave the decision to individual sports federations.

The decision came after an independent report found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping in Russia in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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