Connect with us

Tour News

List of hacked Olympian medical records now includes a golfer

Published

9 years ago

on

Furthering its #OpOlympics, the Russian hacker group Fancy Bears leaked additional Olympians’ medical records late Wednesday, the World Anti-Doping Agency confirms.

And now, in addition to names like Serena Williams and Simone Biles, a golfer’s medical details have been shared: asthma sufferer Charley Hull, who competed for Britain in Rio, was granted a therapeutic-use exemption (TUE) for a banned substance that is used in an inhaler. 

The leaked documents reveal Hull (and other athletes) applications for TUEs, which if granted gave the athletes permission to use a banned substance if it was taken for a verifiable medical conduction.

Hull’s struggles with asthma are well documented. In July at the UL International Crown, the British golfer missed one day of competition due to an asthma attack, which she attributed at least in part to her difficulties going off her inhaler in an effort to comply with Olympic drug testing.

TUEs haved irked Fancy Bears, with the hacker collective feeling that some athletes weren’t competing on a level playing field and is the ostensible motivation for the hack.

WADA has confirmed that its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) system was infiltrated via hacked email accounts connected with the International Olympic Committee.

“The IGF was contacted today by WADA informing us that confidential data from one golf athlete’s record had been illegally obtained from WADA’s ADAMS system and released into the public domain. The athlete was also notified of this breach by UK Anti-Doping,” Ty Votaw, Vice President of the IGF said. “WADA is unable to determine the extent of the data breach and is receiving intelligence and advice from law enforcement and IT security agencies on this and will continue to keep the IGF informed.”

Fancy Bears have indicated that the information revealed thus far is merely the “tip of the iceberg,” stating that further leaks are imminent.

Related Topics:

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Dave r

    Sep 16, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    I honestly believe that there’s not a person in history of sports that has not taken something to help them with their game ,no matter what the sport is . Pain killers help individuals at any level to perform better. Now you can argue that this does not help but I know it sure helps me when I take an Advil during my game of golf or aspirin or something for hay fever .

    Reply Report comment

    • Grizz01

      Sep 17, 2016 at 7:51 pm

      I believe you are correct. I read a book called, “Pedestrianism.” About the biggest sport of the Antebellum period. It was as huge for their day as NFL is today. And they had everything from gambling issues to PED’s. Anything that puts a black eye on sports today… the had it. The PED in question was the use of cocaine leafs being chewed on to give extra stamina. (Pedestrianism was a sport on how low a person could walk in 6 days.. STRAIGHT.

      Reply Report comment

  2. Grizz01

    Sep 16, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    “There are basically two types of competitors at the Olympic Games: those who have been caught using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and those who have not been caught using PEDs. This is true of all human athletic competition, so somebody please tell Bob Costas that when the stakes are even marginally high competitive people will do anything it takes to win.” -Mark Riptoe

    Reply Report comment

  3. Slimeone

    Sep 16, 2016 at 11:49 am

    She might be only using the steroids in her asthma puffer (I use one myself) and I respect that, but people are correct to be sceptical about athletes using TUEs. TUEs have been exploited by athletes for years. A good example is the previously arbitrary TUE allowances for martial arts fighters to take testosterone supplements which resulted in many fighters abusing steroids badly.

    Reply Report comment

  4. doesnotno

    Sep 16, 2016 at 11:27 am

    “with the hacker collective feeling that some athletes weren’t competing on a level playing field”

    And this is from a Russian hacking group, right?

    Reply Report comment

    • Just Do It

      Sep 16, 2016 at 11:50 am

      Doesn’t matter who it is, if the papers reveal the truth. It’s sad that players use some strong substances and are clearly getting an unfair advantage with those stimulants.

      Reply Report comment

  5. TCJ

    Sep 16, 2016 at 11:10 am

    I love you Charley!

    Reply Report comment

    • Justin

      Sep 16, 2016 at 1:32 pm

      Funny, because the drugs in most inhalers are often used by bodybuilders to cut weight

      Reply Report comment

    • Bigboy

      Sep 17, 2016 at 3:07 am

      She needs to get back on the fish n chips…i like them cuddly.

      Reply Report comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

on

Jul 29, 2025

By

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 3M Open

Published

1 month ago

on

Jul 23, 2025

By

GolfWRX is live from the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities!

Back from our overseas journey, we have plenty for you to digest from Minnesota, including WITBs and in-hand looks at some pretty impressive putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Open Championship

Published

1 month ago

on

Jul 17, 2025

By

GolfWRX was live this week across the pond for The Open Championship! Check out links to all our galleries from Royal Portrush below.

General Albums

Pullout Albums

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago

Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)

Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
Whats in the Bag4 weeks ago

WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship

Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...

Facebook

Trending