U.S. Olympians targeted by Russian hackers

A hacking group with links to Russia leaked confidential medical documents from top U.S. Olympians yesterday, including the records of gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles and tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams.

The hacking group, Fancy Bears, stole the documents from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in what is widely believed to be retaliation for the International Olympic Committee’s ban of Russian athletes accused of doping. Fancy Bears claims the documents prove other athletes, including Biles and the Williams sisters, rely on drugs to succeed. This is how “Olympic medals are won,” the group claims.

U.S. officials condemned the stunt as a violation of athletes’ privacy.

“The cyber bullying of innocent athletes being engaged in by these hackers is cowardly and despicable,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

The documents Fancy Bears uncovered were completely legal “Therapeutic Use Exemptions,” Tygart said. WADA allows athletes to use otherwise banned substances under the certification of medical need. That includes the psychostimulants taken by Biles and U.S. basketball player Elena Delle Donne.

“I have ADHD and I have taken medicine for it since I was a kid,” Biles said in a tweet. “Please know I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so.”

Donne and the Williams sisters also released statements explaining their drugs were prescribed through WADA’s exemption programs and were not performance enhancing. Fancy Bears claimed that could just be evidence of WADA’s own corruption.

Despite the exemptions, some medical professionals think the approved drugs could give athletes an advantage.

Stimulants, such as those prescribed for ADHD, act as hyper-focus drugs, explained psychologist John McCoy. They make patients able to block out distractions and if taken in high dosages can awaken the whole body with an effect similar to caffeine. That could make a crucial difference in a difficult mental sport such as gymnastics, he said.

It would be possible, in fact easy, to fake an ADHD diagnosis due to the subjective nature of the test for it, McCoy suggested.

“When you are dealing with sinners, which we all are, there is a way around just about every system,” he said. “Ultimately it is between you and your Maker.”

WADA director general Olivier Niggli dismissed the information leak as an attempt to undermine the global anti-doping system. He also noted Fancy Bears’ links to Russia made WADA distrust Russian athletes even more. Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly disassociated himself from the leak.

The Fancy Bears website promises more compromising documents are coming soon.