The latest development in international doping affaires is that Russian cyber espionage group known as ‘Fancy Bear’ published medical documents from four US Olympic athletes on Tuesday, starting what looks like an outright battle in the world of anti-doping, international sport and geopolitics. You wonder when is the time judoka will be affected in this war on medical information. 

The hackers, also known as the Tsar group launched a cyber-attack on the internal database of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), publishing the confidential medical files of four high-profile American athletes, all of which participated in Rio - tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, gymnastics multi-gold medalist Simone Biles and basketball player Elena Delle Donne.

For each athlete, the hackers published “Therapeutic Use Exemptions” documents, which allow athletes to use certain otherwise banned substances for verified medical reasons, claiming that this is clear evidence of doping by US Olympians and a double standard of anti-doping measures.

WADA acknowledged that the files published by the espionage group were indeed valid and strongly condemned the attacks, calling them an attempt to undermine the global anti-doping system.