WADA marks anti-doping’s most successful investigation as ‘Operation LIMS’ passes 300 sanctions mark

Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces that sanctions stemming from its groundbreaking ‘Operation LIMS’ investigation based on data and samples that were successfully retrieved by WADA Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) from the Laboratory Information Management System [LIMS] of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory in 2019 have now surpassed the 300 mark. 

To date, there have been a total of 302 sanctions imposed against 291 Russian athletes (11 athletes having received two sanctions each for separate violations) by 23 Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) with an additional four charged but not yet resolved in terms of final judgement. 

WADA President Witold Bańka said: “Put simply, ‘Operation LIMS’ is the most successful investigation in anti-doping history. An incredible 302 sanctions have now been imposed in the wake of Russia’s institutionalized doping scheme. This is thanks to the hard work and professionalism of WADA staff, especially those in our extraordinary Intelligence and Investigations and Legal Affairs departments, as well as our partners in other organizations. It is a testament to the cooperation and dedication of the various International Federations and other Anti-Doping Organizations that have diligently followed up on the evidentiary packages WADA provided to them.  

“Importantly, 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. 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.” 

Director of WADA I&I Günter Younger said: “After years of painstaking hard work and patience, WADA Intelligence and Investigations is pleased to have passed the significant landmark of 300 successfully sanctioned cases. It shows just how important investigations can be in the protection of clean sport. The success of this operation is due in large part to the investment that WADA and the broader anti-doping community have made in intelligence and investigations in recent years. We could not have done this on our own – these achievements are only possible when we are united, and we collaborate to deliver real results. I thank all the other Anti-Doping Organizations involved and also the excellent team of forensic experts at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.” 

WADA can now confirm that all ‘Operation LIMS’ cases have been investigated. Although most of the cases were in either athletics or weightlifting, a total of 22 sports were involved to some degree. The sport-by-sport breakdown of the cases is as follows: 

• Aquatics: 7 
• Archery: 1 
• Athletics+: 93 
• Biathlon+^: 9.5 
• Bobsleigh & Skeleton: 9 
• Boxing: 5 
• Canoe: 4  
• Football: 3 
• Ice Hockey+: 4 
• Judo: 6 
• Kettlebell: 1 
• Pentathlon: 2 
• Powerlifting+: 9 
• Rowing: 5 
• Sambo: 1 
• Skating: 2 
• Skiing+^: 2.5 
• Taekwondo: 3 
• Triathlon: 1 
• Volleyball: 8 
• Weightlifting:107  
• Wrestling: 19 

+ Includes para-athletes 

^ One case involved an athlete competing in biathlon and cross-country skiing. This athlete was prosecuted and sanctioned jointly by the International Federations for biathlon (IBU) and skiing (FIS). 

Background 

In 2015, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code after WADA uncovered widespread institutionalized doping within Russian sport. In September 2018, WADA’s Executive Committee voted to reinstate RUSADA subject to a number of strict conditions. This decision paved the way for WADA I&I’s successful missions to Russia in January 2019 and April 2019 to retrieve a colossal 24 terabytes* of data from the LIMS of the Moscow Laboratory, as well as a number of samples. This investigation became known as ‘Operation LIMS’. 

During the complex authentication phase that followed, it was established that some of the data had been manipulated, which led to a fresh compliance case being taken against RUSADA under the terms of the International Standard of Code Compliance for Signatories, a strong legal framework that entered into force in April 2018 after the original case against RUSADA. The reinstatement of RUSADA in 2018 ensured that any subsequent non-compliance would be dealt with under this much more robust set of rules, which is exactly what transpired. 

Confirmation of the manipulation resulted in WADA again seeking RUSADA’s non-compliance along with a range of strong consequences for a four-year period. In its ruling of December 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld WADA’s case but imposed weaker consequences on Russia than those sought by WADA, and for a two-year period rather than four. Meanwhile, ‘Operation LIMS’ was able to forensically recover much of the data that had been manipulated and/or deleted, which led to hundreds of strong cases being built against athletes who had been part of Russia's doping program. 

To this day, RUSADA remains non-compliant and must fulfil the reinstatement conditions in full, as laid out by the December 2020 CAS decision. To assess fulfillment of the reinstatement conditions, WADA must send a team to Russia to conduct an in-person audit, which to date has not been possible due to the ongoing geopolitical situation. In addition, a separate compliance case is pending before CAS regarding non-conformities in the Russian sports legislation.  

* 24 terabytes of data are equivalent to roughly 60 years of continuous music or about 8,000 feature-length movie downloads in HD.