Cameron van der Burgh's medical info leaked

Cameron van der Burgh Photo: David Gray

Cameron van der Burgh Photo: David Gray

Published Sep 26, 2016

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Olympic gold medalist Cameron van der Burgh is the first South African whose confidential medical information has been released by the cyber hackers ‘Fancy Bears’ over the weekend.

The group released medical information hacked from the Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS) which centred around Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUEs).

The hackers with links to Russia have leaked batches of data it illegally obtained from the World Anti-Doping Agency databases since the middle of this month.

The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) yesterday said it condemned the publication of confidential medical information and the attempt to also discredit individual athletes. It confirmed Van der Burgh’s confidential records had been leaked on the ‘Fancy Bears’ website.

“TUEs are issued to athletes who have a medical condition which requires treatment using substances that are normally prohibited by anti-doping authorities,” SAIDS said in a release.

“In South Africa, TUEs are issued in terms of strict rules and international standards and are assessed by an independent panel of medical experts.

“The process is designed to ensure that the requirement is genuine and that, in the prevailing circumstances, the substance does not afford the athlete an unfair advantage but rather addresses a medical condition.”

Van der Burgh was among a host of international athletes from Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States.

Big names such as British Tour de France champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, and Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal are among the athletes whose private details have been leaked.

Van der Burgh received a TUE for four years between 2009 and 2013 for salbutamol which is commonly taken through an inhaler to relieve asthma.

Wada removed Salbutamol from the prohibited list in 2010 allowing doses recommended for asthmatics with athletes no longer requiring TUEs.

Independent Media

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