The Fancy Bears are at it again.
Less than 24 hours after releasing medical records for US athletes such as Serena Williams and Rio 2016 gymnast Simone Biles, a group of hackers have shared records for two of Britain’s most decorated cyclists.
The World Anti-Doping Authority has confirmed that records for 29 athletes have been obtained in a cyber attack it believes has been carried out to undermine its efforts to crack down on drug cheats.
The hackers – going by the name Fancy Bears – have been heavily linked to Russia. It is a claim Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refuted, declaring such links were ‘out of the question’.
The WADA records for Wiggins and Froome, who have four Tour de France yellow jerseys and five Olympic golds between them, have a few notable Therapeutic Use Exemptions.
Wiggins was given permission to take two banned substances, on several occasions, between 2008 and 2013. He was given TUE exemptions to take the substances during the 2011 Tour de France and the 2013 Giro d’Italia. Records show one of the substances, triamcinolone acetonide, was taken for a pollen allergy.
Froome was granted a TUE certificate for the banned steroid prednisolone several times between 2013 and 2014. The steroid-based drug is often used to treat inflammation but Froome was reported to have sought permission to use it after suffering from a chill.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing from either cyclist in the WADA records. Froome was quick out of the gates, this morning, with a statement:
Chris Froome statement: pic.twitter.com/cYm1Ci2LBs
— Dan Roan (@danroan) September 15, 2016
Of the 29 athletes targeted in the cyber attacks, 10 are American, five are British, five are German and there are one each from Romania, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic. One Russian athlete is included.
11 of the athletes won medals at Rio 2016.
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