MONTREAL: The probe into Russia’s state-backed doping programme passed a milestone of over 300 sanctions against athletes in what the World Anti-Doping Agency president described on Thursday as the “most successful investigation in anti-doping history”.

WADA announced that its ‘Operation LIMS’ probe has resulted in 302 sanctions against 291 Russian athletes, with 11 athletes receiving two sanctions each for separate violations.

The investigation was based on data and samples retrieved from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory in 2019.

“Put simply, ‘Operation LIMS’ is the most successful investigation in anti-doping history,” WADA president Witold Banka said.

“An incredible 302 sanctions have now been imposed in the wake of Russia’s institutionalised doping scheme.”

WADA said sanctions have been imposed by 23 different anti-doping organisations, with four additional cases still awaiting final judgment.

While weightlifting (107 cases) and athletics (93) had the most violations, a total of 22 sports were implicated.

Russia’s anti-doping agency (RUSADA) was declared non-compliant in 2015 after WADA uncovered widespread, institutionalised doping in Russian sport.

WADA said its conditional reinstatement in 2018 later allowed investigators to recover 24 terabytes of Moscow laboratory data in 2019, laying the groundwork for hundreds of cases.

Banka defended WADA’s decision to reinstate RUSADA under strict conditions, despite fierce criticism at the time.

“Importantly, the decision taken in 2018 to reinstate RUSADA under strict conditions despite opposition from a vocal minority of critics was made precisely in order to get to the truth and formed part of a sophisticated investigative strategy,” he added.

“Without that decision, we would never have been able to obtain the critical evidence from the Moscow Laboratory needed to prosecute these cases.”

WADA confirmed that all Operation LIMS cases have now been investigated, marking the end of a probe that reshaped the anti-doping landscape.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2026