WADA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and athletes were all left stunned by an explosive New York Times report that detailed widespread doping by Russia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including 15 medal winners.
It was all part of a dark day for anti-doping crusaders as Russia was once again in the spotlight along with Kenya, after the African nation famous for its middle and long-distance runners was declared non-compliant and now faces a possible Olympic ban.
In recent months, WADA has appeared to be losing ground in the war on performance-enhancing drugs and the agency suffered another setback on Thursday when the New York Times story landed smack in the middle of its board meeting.
Alarm bells were ringing as WADA members absorbed details of a Times report that quoted Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia's drug testing laboratory, recounting dozens of cover-ups and the disposal of tainted samples.
