Organizers await instructions after Rio anti-doping lab is suspended

The suspension of Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory (BDCL) has added another challenge for the troubled Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended Friday the accreditation of the BDCL for at least six months due to a failure to comply with international standards.

The Rio 2016 organizers raced to assuage concerns that doping would not be a problem, especially after the Russian athletics team has been suspended for failing to address concerns about doping.

Rio 2016 spokesperson Mario Andrada said on Friday evening that "we have the support of local airlines to fly the samples to Europe or the U.S.."

However, he said the organizers were expecting "instructions from WADA as to the next steps to take."

The BDCL was meant to take care of a large part of anti-doping checks during the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, meaning that its closure six weeks before the Games is yet another crisis for Brazil to deal with.

At a press conference explaining the decision, WADA director general Olivier Niggli said that "the best solution will be put in place to ensure that sample analysis for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games is robust."

Publishing the news on its website, WADA said it informed the lab of the news on Wednesday, preventing it from carrying out any further urine and blood sample checks. The lab now has 21 days to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

The Brazilian Authority on Doping Control (BACD) said it thought the BDCL would remain "important" in anti-doping controls for the Games due to its "technical and scientific legacy". Endit