On November 9, an independent comission appointed by World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed use of performance enhancing drugs and blood doping by Russian athletes and to make matters murkier, they were allegedly encouraged by coaches, doctors, state and sport officials. These officials thereafter helped in mopping up the dirty business and pushing it under the carpet. The investigation was launched after a documentary by ARD/WDR in Germany claimed there was widespread doping in Russian athletics which engulfed athletes, officials and even labs meant for conducting tests on said athletes. The documentary also claimed a few IAAF, the world body, officials were in on it too. WADA in it’s 323 page report stated there was a “culture of cheating”. It implicated the Russian Ministry of Sport, All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARF) and Russia’s National Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). The report also found that over 1,400 lab samples were intentionally destroyed by officials in a Moscow lab after WADA asked for their preservation and found evidence of the director taking cash to delay or taint doping tests. In the immediate aftermath of the report, Russian authorities, including the government, were quick to refute the allegations and called them “groundless”. The report named Mariya Savinova (800m champion at london 2012), Ekaterina Poistogova (800m bronze medallist at london 2012), Anastasiya Bazdyreva (400m and 800m runner), Kristina Ugarova (ranked 110th in the world in 1500m) and Tatyana Myazina (800m runner) as the tainted athletes. After the report, in an emergency IAAF meeting, the board decided to provisionally suspend Russia and all its athletes from world athletics and if need be — from the Rio Olympics in the following year. Russia accepted the sentencing and started working on getting its house in order. In the same meeting, Russia was also stripped of two events that it was supposed to host. A month after the report, RUSADA’s chief Ramil Khabriev resigned from his post with a response plan put into effect by the Kremlin and IAAF. Russia President Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian government and authorities will co-operate to eradicate doping.