Callum Skinner's anti-doping data published by Russian hackers

British track sprinter Callum Skinner is the latest cyclist to have their therapeutic use exemption certificates published by the so-called Fancy Bears hacker group

Callum Skinner is the latest British Olympic cyclist to have their confidential anti-doping medical records published online by Russian hacking group, the so-called 'Fancy Bears'.

The Great Britain track sprinter claimed gold in the team sprint and silver in the sprint at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August.

Fancy Bears hacked the World Anti-Doping Agency's confidential medical files, and have been posting various athletes' therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificates online in the past week, including Skinner's on Monday.

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Two TUE certificates allegedly belonging to Skinner were published: one for prednisolone, a glucocorticoid used to treat inflammation; and one for asthma drug salbutamol.

The TUE for prednisolone was for a one-off course of oral treatment for five days at the Track World Cup in London, from November 6 2014. The salbutamol inhaler TUE is for two days only, January 25-26 2016.

The TUEs are used by WADA to allow an athlete to use a substance on the banned list for a medical reason. Their publication is not proof of any wrong-doing.

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Britain's Mo Farah, Helen Glover and Justin Rose were among the other athletes to have their data published on Monday. Spanish tennis star Rafal Nadal was also included.

Previously, Fancy Bears have published the TUE certificates of British cyclists Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Laura Trott.

Wiggins has faced questions since Fancy Bears published his TUEs as they included injections while on Team Sky, which appears at odds with the British team's 'no needles' policy.

Fancy Bears accessed WADA's Anti-Doping Administrative Management System (ADAMS) via an account created for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to obtain the data illegally. The group says that TUEs are 'licences for doping'.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.