Wada's Operation Lims: 302 sanctions imposed on Russian athletes after Moscow lab data seizure

More than 300 sanctions have been handed to Russian athletes following the seizure of Moscow laboratory data in 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) says. The body has now concluded its investigation, dubbed Operation Lims, with 291 athletes sanctioned - and 302 sanctions imposed. Competitors from 22 sports have been punished by 23 different anti-doping organisations, with weightlifting (107 athletes) and athletics (93) the most frequently sanctioned. Eleven athletes have received sanctions for multiple violations, while four further cases have been charged but not resolved, with the final judgement still awaited. "Put simply, Operation Lims is the most successful investigation in anti-doping history," said Wada president Witold Banka. Wada revealed details of a state-sponsored doping programme in 2015, and declared the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. But Wada's executive committee voted to reinstate Rusada in September 2018, subject to a number of strict conditions. The move was condemned in some circles at the time with one critic calling it "the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history". However Wada said that move directly led to their retrieval of 24 terabytes of data from the Moscow lab in January and April 2019. "The decision taken in 2018 to reinstate Rusada under strict conditions - despite opposition from a vocal minority of critics - was made precisely in order to get to the truth and formed part of a sophisticated investigative strategy," Banka added. "Without that decision, we would never have been able to obtain the critical evidence from the Moscow laboratory needed to prosecute these cases. I am pleased to say that history has shown this approach to be effective and that the entire process has been a remarkable success in ensuring fairness for athletes around the world." While investigating the retrieved material, it was established that some of the data had been manipulated, which ultimately led to Russia being handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events in 2019. Russia's doping ban ended in 2023, though its teams and competitors were banned by multiple international sporting bodies following the invasion of Ukraine. Some organisations have begun to allow Russia's athletes to compete under their flag in recent months.