September 24/16 13:59 pm - Pendrel & Gagne TUEs Released by Russian Hacker Group

Posted by Editoress on 09/24/16
 

Canadian mountain bikers Catharine Pendrel and Raphael Gagne are among the latest athletes to have private medical files published online by the Russian hacker group Fancy Bears.  The Russian group, broadly thought to be operating with the tacit approval of Russian authorities, has been publishing medical files that were hacked from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

All files are for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) that allow athletes to use otherwise banned substances for medical reasons.  The Fancy Bears group are suspected of releasing the hacked files to divert attention from the ongoing investigations and sanctions against Russia for state-sponsored doping, as detailed in the McLaren Report.  Seven Canadians were included in the latest data dump by Fancy Bears.

Catharine Pendrel, the bronze medal winner at the Rio Games in Women's Mountain Bike, received a TUE for a painkiller during surgery.

Pendrel made a statement regarding the medical information released:  "Today I was informed that my WADA account was hacked by Fancy Bears. You will see my name in the media with other athletes who received a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) this season. As many of you know I had surgery for a broken thumb in April. Two pins were inserted in my thumb to aid the bones in union. For the surgery an anesthesiologist gave Remifentanil as a pain killer for which I applied for and received a TUE. That is all. Keep the faith."

Raphael Gagne told us his TUE was for asthma earlier in the season.  "It ran from 2009 to 2013 for asthma treatment, and was prescribed following an appointment with specialist.  Releasing this information is a bit of threat, because there is more than just TUEs in the WADA data, such as biological passport information.  I believe they are trying to take media attention away from those who cheated.  I'm a long time spokesperson for Race Clean and I stand by my beliefs.  I hope CCES and WADA will do all they can to keep our info safe." (Note: Incorrect information was put into earlier report)

Other cyclists named included Fabian Cancellara, Nino Schurter, Bradley Wiggins and Jakob Fuglsang.  All had valid TUEs.