WADA has officially finished ‘Operation Lims,’ the most successful investigation in the history of anti-doping. Yankee Scores examines the numbers behind the 9-year battle for the truth.

More than 300 sanctions have been imposed on Russian athletes following the hacking of the Moscow laboratory data in 2019, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The Final Count of Sanctions

Operation Lims by the WADA came to an end with sanctions imposed on 291 athletes and 302 sanctions overall.

Hardest Hit Sports

The sanctions covered athletes from 22 different sports through 23 anti-doping organizations. Weightlifting had the highest number of sanctions at 107 athletes, followed by athletics at 93 athletes.

Eleven athletes had multiple sanctions imposed on them while four athletes’ cases were pending.

“Put simply, Operation Lims is the most successful investigation in anti-doping history,” said Wada president Witold Banka.

Initially in 2015, the agency disclosed state-sponsored doping and declared that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency failed to comply with the code set forth by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Strategy Behind Reinstitution

However, in September 2018, WADA decided to reinstated the Russian Anti-Doping Agency with strict conditions.

“The decision taken in 2018 to reinstate Rusada under strict conditions – despite opposition from a vocal minority of critics – was made precisely in order to get to the truth and formed part of a sophisticated investigative strategy,” Banka added.

“Without that decision, we would never have been able to obtain the critical evidence from the Moscow laboratory needed to prosecute these cases.

“I am pleased to say that history has shown this approach to be effective and that the entire process has been a remarkable success in ensuring fairness for athletes around the world.”

While reviewing the evidence, it was established that certain information had been manipulated. As a result, Russia received a ban from competing in any sports activities for four years.

From Doping to Geopolitics

Russia’s doping scandal came to an end in 2023, but various sports institutions still refused to lift their bans regarding Russian teams and athletes after the war in Ukraine.

Recently, there have been cases when some associations have allowed Russian athletes to compete under their national flag.