If Russia smells a conspiracy, then WADA has questions to answer on:
• why it accepted, apparently without question, research that appears to have been commissioned by US sport;
• whether it considered that banning meldonium could create the perception that this was a targeted move to prevent athletes from eastern Europe competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics;
• whether it independently verified the PCC-commissioned research;
• why it failed to include the drug’s brand name (mildronate) on the Prohibited List, despite the research it relied upon to ban that drug using that brand name.
• why it failed to include the drug’s brand name (mildronate) on the Prohibited List, despite WADA’s Scientific Director concluding in 2015 that inclusion of the brand name was ‘useful’ to athletes.
• why it failed to provide local language updates about a ban on a drug used in a specific area (Eastern Europe).