Emma Coburn Is Fighting Back Against WADA. Are You?

The WADA saga keeps chugging along and as Emma Coburn, and other athletes, speak out against the organization — there was bound to be some pushback from the executive board as they are further backed into their corner.

Maybe it’s because they know that their time is running out… or maybe it’s because they know they can get away with it… either way, the WADA board and specifically the African Union have put forth a proposal that would prohibit WADA Vice President Linda Hofstad Helleland from challenging President Craig Reedie at the end of the year. The proposal put forward by the African Union would limit the WADA presidency to candidates who have a Master’s degree and are at least 45 years old.

How old is Linda Hofstad Helleland? Unsurprisingly she is 41 years old as of this writing.

So why would the African Union and other WADA board members be singling out Ms. Helleland?

For starters, she was 1 of only 2 WADA members (Grant Robertson of New Zealand being the 2nd) who voted against RUSADA being reinstated in a move that has been criticized by a majority of the sporting world. She was then a big part in the Emergency White House Anti-Doping Summit, of which she has been criticized for attending as the Vice President of WADA. This makes next to 0 sense to me: Why would a high ranking member of the global anti-doping agency be ridiculed for attending an event designed to air clean sport athlete’s concerns?