The Polish anti-doping agency (POLADA) has claimed it is the victim of a cyber attack that has leaked false details of positive tests from athletes including tennis star Iga Swiatek and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski.
Many top Polish athletes were named in a supposed leak which alleged they had tested positive for banned substances. The false information was subsequently shared on social media by an X account which now appears to have been deactivated.
The agency provided a statement in response to a now-deleted post on X which allegedly contained details of the fake leak. POLADA said: “Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake.
“All of these posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause (sic) they compete clean. Non (sic) of this (sic) athletes was positive and non (sic) of presented dates is matching doping controls which were conducted.”
In a separate post, POLADA slammed the alleged leak as ‘fake news’ and insisted none of the athletes named have tested positive for banned substances.
It said: “In connection with the hacking attack we inform you, that data is used by cyber criminals for various purposes, including widely understood disinformation.
“In the public domain fake news discrediting Polish athletes has appeared. Please do not duplicate them.
“None of the listed athletes will have a positive result and none of the terms presented correspond to conducted anti-doping controls.”
Swiatek and Lewandowski are two of Poland’s best-known athletes. There is no indication that either have tested positive for banned substances, nor anyone else named in the post on X.
World No 1 Swiatek won bronze at the Olympics earlier this month. It came just months after she won the French Open for the fourth time at the same Roland Garros venue.
She also won the US Open in 2022. The 23-year-old is a former semi-finalist in the Australian Open and a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon. Swiatek’s representatives pointed to POLADA’s statement when asked for comment.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which deals with doping in tennis, has said its records has no evidence of positive tests for Swiatek.
Meanwhile, Lewandowski is one of Europe’s top centre-forwards. The 35-year-old joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich in 2022 and scored 26 goals in 49 appearances last season. His representatives have been contacted for comment.
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