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WADA Informant Rodchenkov Alive, Reports of Attempted Suicide False - Lawyer

In 2016, Grigory Rodchenkov, who headed Russia's national anti-doping laboratory back in 2015, accused a number of Russian Olympic medalists of being a part of an alleged state-run doping program.
Sputnik

Rodchenkov's lawyer Jim Walden has refuted reports of his client's alleged suicide attempt, saying that the main WADA's witness "is happy, healthy, and has been working productively with anti-doping and criminal authorities."

The statement comes hours after a law enforcement source told Sputnik that Rodchenkov tried to commit suicide in Washington on June 19.

"We received information about Grigory Rodchenkov's suicide attempt on June 19 in a Washington flat rented out for him by the FBI in district Columbia," the source said.

The source noted that a lawsuit from three biathletes worth $30 million was being considered one of the reasons.

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In February, Russian biathlete Zaytseva said that she, Romanova and Vilukhina were filing a defamation lawsuit against Rodchenkov. Each athlete was seeking $10 million in compensation. The three women were stripped of 2014 WInter Olympics silver medals after Rodchenkov's allegations of widespread doping use in Russian sport.

In 2016 Grigory Rodchenkov became WADA's main witness in the case against the Russian national Olympic team over doping allegations; he claimed he that had organized switching urine samples for clean ones and also committed to giving athletes a doping Duchess Cocktail.

As a result, 43 Russian athletes were banned for life and the Russian team faced harsh restrictions during the Olympic Games, despite the fact, there was no evidence other than his statements.

READ MORE: Kremlin: We Hope Rodchenkov Testimony to Help Change Decisions on Athletes

However, he later retracted a major part of his accusations against the Russian athletes, claiming that he had never distributed the Duchess Cocktail, seen an athlete taking the mixture, or "tampering with a doping sample."

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