Wada suspends Rio lab weeks before Games

Just weeks before the Olympic Games open in Rio de Janeiro, the city’s accredited anti-doping laboratory has been stopped from conducting tests.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said it has suspended the lab’s accreditation due to “non-conformity with the international standard for Laboratories.”

It did not give details of the non-conformity.

The suspension is an embarrassment to Brazil and Rio so close to the games, which will open on August 5 after months of political turmoil and financial crisis for federal, state and city authorities.

“This is another severe blow,” Mario Andrada, the spokesman of the Rio Games organising committee, said.

“We might not resolve this lab situation before the games. We might have to choose another lab outside Brazil to do the tests. But this will be under the instruction and guidance of Wada.”

If the Rio lab is not reinstated in the next six weeks, other testing centers with Wada accreditation include: UCLA in Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; Bogota, Colombia; Havana; and Mexico City.

In a statement, the International Olympic Committee said the suspension would not “affect either the integrity or the scope of the testing program” at the games.

The IOC said it will “decide which accredited laboratory to use after the assessment by Wada, which is the body responsible for the accreditation of anti-doping laboratories.”

Russian doping shadow over US trials In Nebraska, swimmers at the U.S. Olympic trials insist they are squeaky clean when it comes to doping but do not share the same confidence over the competition they could face in just over five weeks at the Rio Games.

With the Russian track and field team suspended from the Rio de Janeiro Games for systemic doping and a potentially similar sanction awaiting the country’s weightlifters a cloud of suspicion lingers over all of the country’s athletes.

Wada chief Craig Reedie warned on Monday that they would call for “serious” action against Russia if a new investigation led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren unearths more evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping.

“There is definitely a lot of talk, but, you know, I’m 100 percent confident that the U.S. Olympic team will be 100 percent clean, there is no doubt in my mind,” said Elizabeth Beisel, one of the athletes.