In swipe at Russia, U.S. says countries can't be allowed to 'steal' Olympic medals

FILE PHOTO: The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USDA) Chief Executive Officer, Travis Tygart, attends an interview with Reuters during the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Symposium in Ecublens near Lausanne, Switzerland, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

KATOWICE, Poland (Reuters) - The election of a new president of the World Anti-Doping Agency should give it the strength to stop countries stealing Olympic medals, the U.S. anti-doping chief said on Wednesday in remarks aimed at Russian state-sponsored doping.

Speaking at WADA's World Conference on Doping in Sport, Travis Tygart, a strong critic of WADA's handling of a Russian doping scandal, said the Tokyo 2020 Games would be the fifth Olympics where doping was the main issue instead of athletes' performances.