United States: Donald Trump signs ‘Rodchenkov Act’

NAfter the House and Senate, the incumbent US President Donald Trump also gave his approval: This makes the so-called “Gregory Rodchenkov Act” on anti-doping official. This gives authorities in the United States the opportunity to classify doping as a criminal offense in major sporting events and to punish them. In addition to criminal penalties, the law protects whistle-blowers from retaliation and provides compensation for athletes who have been harmed by doping.

Democrats and Republicans introduced the “Rodchenkov Act” to both houses in early 2019. The House of Representatives approved it in October 2019. The Senate followed suit. On Friday, Trump also gave the decisive signature to the newspaper.

“A great day”

The name is a tribute to the Russian informant Grigory Rodchenkov. The former head of an anti-doping laboratory in Moscow exposed Russia’s machinations during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to cover up the positive doping tests of local athletes after his escape. Rudchenkov has lived with the FBI’s witness protection program in the United States ever since.

“This is a historic day in the global struggle for clean sport.” The law will help change the competition for clean athletes for the better, ”said Travis Tejart, managing director of the US Anti-Doping Agency USADA, before Trump’s signature.