The Polish Anti-Doping Agency POLADA Fights Back Against Cyber Attack
In a shocking turn of events, the Polish anti-doping agency (POLADA) has become the target of a vicious cyber attack. False information about positive drug tests from numerous athletes, including big names like tennis star Iga Swiatek and football sensation Robert Lewandowski, was leaked to the public.
These supposed leaks quickly spread on social media before POLADA stepped in to set the record straight. In a firm statement on X, formerly Twitter, they denounced the allegations as “fake” and aimed at discrediting clean Polish athletes.
Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake. All of this posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause they compete clean. Non of this athletes was positive and non of presented dates is matching doping controls which were conducted.
— Polska Agencja Antydopingowa (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that there is no evidence of any doping violations by Swiatek. Even during the period in question, when anti-doping was under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), no adverse findings were recorded.
Despite the adversity, POLADA remains steadfast in their commitment to ensuring clean competition. They alerted the public to the use of hacked data by cyber criminals for the spread of disinformation.
— Polska Agencja Antydopingowa (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
Swiatek’s camp deferred to POLADA’s statements for further clarification. Meanwhile, the agency, which is recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), continues to uphold the integrity of sports in Poland.
As the investigation unfolds, the world of sports watches closely to see how this cyber attack will impact the reputation of clean athletes like Swiatek and Lewandowski.
(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
