WADA says doping lawsuit by Russian cyclists dismissed

MONTREAL (AP) — A lawsuit filed against the World Anti-Doping Agency by Russian cyclists in Canada was dismissed last month.

WADA said Wednesday that the Superior Court of Ontario dismissed the claim filed against the agency and Canadian investigator Richard McLaren, ruling that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had already decided the matter when it dismissed an appeal by the riders in 2016.

WADA said the ruling was issued last month and the appeal period has now expired.

Dmitry Sokolov, Dmitry Strakhov and Kirill Sveshnikov were due to compete in the team pursuit at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but they were excluded after McLaren composed a report for WADA alleging widespread doping cover-ups in Russian sports.

None of the three riders was ever handed a doping suspension on the basis of the report. They took the matter to the Canadian legal system in 2017.

“This judgement rightly closes the door on attempts to re-litigate matters through the filing of domestic claims,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli said.