Russia asks for joint doping investigation with WADA

Natalya Bochkaryova, left, and Ilya Podolsky work at the Russian Anti Doping Agency RUSADA drug-testing laboratory in Moscow, Russia. The World Anti-Doping Agency has partly restored drug-testing duties to the Russian anti-doping agency. RUSADA was suspended in 2015 when its staff was accused of helping to cover up drug use. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

MOSCOW — Russian law enforcement officials have asked the World Anti-Doping Agency to join its investigation into new information about doping cases.

WADA said Friday it had obtained a database of all drug-test data from the Moscow laboratory from 2012-15, which could back up allegations by the lab’s then-director Grigory Rodchenkov of a vast doping conspiracy.

Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko says the body is “ready for co-operation” with WADA and has sent an official request.

The Russian request comes a week after it claimed to have foiled attempts to obtain the database.

Petrenko said Thursday that Rodchenkov had tried to persuade his successor as Moscow lab director to give him the database, but that she had contacted the Investigative Committee and secured the records.

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