Vladimir Putin blasts Sir Bradley Wiggins and other stars who were given medical exemptions from banned drugs
Wiggins was given injections of the corticosteroid triamcinolone to treat asthma before three major races
VLADIMIR PUTIN has launched an astonishing attack on stars such as Sir Bradley Wiggins who had medical exemptions for banned drugs.
The Russian president claims TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) give athletes an unfair advantage and anybody who uses them should be excluded from major competitions.
He said: “We need to understand what to do about TUEs, otherwise we could soon face all records and victories going only to people who are ill with, let’s say, chronic illnesses.
“Maybe these people can be put in a special category, or their achievements, points and honours can be considered in a special way.”
His words come in the wake of hackers the Fancy Bears leaking data which showed Brit Olympic heroes including Wiggins, cycling team-mates Chris Froome and Laura Trott, as well as runner Mo Farah have all received TUEs.
Wiggins, 36, has been heavily criticised for having injections of the corticosteroid triamcinolone to treat asthma before three major races, including his Tour de France victory in 2012.
There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part.
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But Putin, whose country saw their track and field stars banned from the Rio Olympics after evidence emerged of state- sponsored doping, has now weighed in.
He backed calls for all TUEs to be made public, a move which could face legal obstacles related to medical confidentiality.
Putin said: “If an athlete doesn’t want their medical status made public, then they shouldn’t be competing in high-level sport.”
Only one Russian, boxer Misha Aloyan, is among the dozens of athletes whose medical information has been leaked.
However, many more are believed to have used TUEs.
Russia’s Tatyana Lysenko was yesterday stripped of her London 2012 gold medal in the hammer after testing positive for the banned steroid turinabol under the reanalysis of samples.
Lysenko, now named Beloborodova after marriage, served a two-year drug ban between 2007 and 2009.
She is also reported to have failed another test in April this year. The former world champ is facing a lifetime ban.
But she has denied any wrongdoing and refused to engage with Olympic chiefs.
Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, who finished second in London and won the Olympic title in Rio this summer, is now set to be upgraded to gold.
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