The Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) said on Wednesday it had fallen victim to a cyber attack that led to the leak of false details about a number of athletes' positive test results.
The alleged leak included many well-known Polish athletes, including world number one tennis player Iga Swiatek and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been one of Europe's top soccer players for over a decade.
The alleged leaked information was then shared on social media and subsequently described as “fake” by POLADA.
A statement from the agency on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a now-deleted tweet outlining the allegations read: “The information presented in this post about the Polish player is fake.
“All these posts are aimed at discrediting Polish athletes, who do not deserve this recognition because they compete cleanly. None of these athletes have tested positive and none of the dates presented correspond to doping tests carried out.”
The information about Polish athletes presented in this post is fake. This whole post is aimed at discrediting Polish athletes, who don't deserve to be discredited because they play clean. None of these athletes have tested positive and none of the dates presented correspond to doping tests carried out.
— Polska Agencia Antidopingova (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA), which oversees doping in tennis, Athletic There is no evidence of any adverse findings against Sfiontek in their records.
At the time, doping tests were under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), whose records include the period during which Swiatek allegedly tested positive.
In a subsequent tweet, Porada wrote: “I want to let you know in relation to the hacking attack that the data is being used by cybercriminals for a variety of purposes, including widely understood disinformation.
“Fake news discrediting Polish athletes has been published in the public. Please do not imitate this.
“None of the athletes on the list have tested positive and none of the conditions presented are consistent with the anti-doping tests carried out.”
— Polska Agencia Antidopingova (@POLADA_official) August 14, 2024
When asked for comment, Swiatek's campaign referred to the POLADA statement.
POLADA is Poland's National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA is responsible for coordinating anti-doping rules and policies across all sports, including tennis and soccer.
Lewandowski's representatives were also approached for comment.
(Dimitar Dirkov/AFP via Getty Images)
