"I believe our mandate is to protect ALL clean athletes and I do believe there are clean Russian Athletes. Blanket punishment is unfair to those who compete cleanly and even if there is only one clean Russian Athlete, that Athlete has the RIGHT to be protected. Assuming every Russian Athlete cheats, is unjust. The decision to reinstate RUSADA is positive as it allows for greater transparency through increased testing and access to their Labs & Data by Dec 2018," Coventry, a former Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder, tweeted.
Meanwhile, WADA can obtain the required data to prosecute the athletes who violated anti-doping rules, she added.
READ MORE: WADA Clarifies Media Reports on RUSADA Reinstatement Procedure
Coventry also stressed the need for RUSADA to adhere to the requirements and "strict deadlines" to ensure that clean Russian athletes were given the chance to compete on a level playing field.
WADA’s decision to reinstate RUSADA was met with criticism from some officials and agencies. Particularly, the UK Anti-Doping authority (UKAD) questioned the agency’s independence in the vote. Canadian professor Richard McLaren, the author of the high-profile WADA report into doping in Russian sports claimed that the decision showed that WADA had abandoned the idea of making Russia comply with the rules.
