Grigory Rodchenkov's biography, career, and personal life sparked public interest after he became the center of a scandal involving Russian athletes. Who is he, a fighter for the truth or a great schemer who is trying to bring both the athletes of the Russian Federation and himself into the open?
Grigory Rodchenkov is the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. But his name became known to the general public not because of his merits, but thanks to his false accusations, with which he literally bombarded Russian athletes. It was his often chaotic, and often simply unfounded accusations that became the reason for the ban on participation in the Olympic Games for a huge number of athletes from the Russian Federation.
Biography of Grigory Rodchenkov
Grigory Mikhailovich is a native of Moscow. He was born in October 1958 into a family of pharmacists. It is known that the mother of the future brawler and provocateur of a world scale has worked all her life in the Central Clinical Hospital of the capital of the Russian Federation.
In childhood and adolescence, Grigory was seriously fond of sports, more precisely, athletics, and even received the title of master in this form. He received an excellent education - in addition to high school, he brilliantly graduated from the chemistry department of the legendary Moscow State University. His main specialty is chemical catalysis and kinetics.
The young man was equally fascinated by both sports and chemistry, more precisely, the pharmaceutical direction. Combining two hobbies into one, he seriously began to study the effect of drugs on the body of those involved in sports.
Career of Grigory Rodchenkov
Three years after graduating from Moscow State University, Rodchenkov got a job at an anti-doping center. Many sources claim that he succeeded only thanks to the patronage of his mother. Already in 1986, he represented the organization at the Goodwill Games held at that time. Such a rapid career growth would not have been possible without someone's help, and this is obvious.
After defending his Ph. D. thesis in 1990, Rodchenkov moved to Canada, where he worked as a specialist in the detection of doping in biological materials of athletes in the city of Calgary. A foreign career did not work out, and Gregory decided to return to his homeland. From 1999 to 2005, he managed to work in
- Unilab CJSC,
- CJSC OPG Service,
- MHK Laverna-Himsnab.
In 2005, Rodchenkov was appointed Acting Director of the Federal Anti-Doping Center, and a year later became its official head. Gregory held his post until 2015, when he was accused by the WADA commission of deliberately destroying samples and became the organization's official informant.
Personal life of Grigory Rodchenkov
The interest in Rodchenkov among the world and Russian public arose only thanks to the so-called "doping scandal". It was during this period of his life that more and more articles about him, his career and personal life began to appear in the press. The last topic remained closed. The WADA informant did not want to share how his family life is going, explaining this decision by the fact that he fears for the lives of his loved ones.
Very little is known about Grigory Rodchenkov's personal life. His wife's name is Veronika Rodchenkova. The couple have one daughter - Marina Balakina. After the head of the family was forced to go abroad, his wife and daughter live in the Moscow region, in a house that belongs to Grigory.
Doping scandal and Grigory Rodchenkov
It was the doping scandal that erupted in 2015 that made Rodchenkova famous. The WADA Commission accused the head of the Russian anti-doping center of destroying samples of biological materials from athletes. During the trial, facts surfaced that revealed the real essence of Gregory. And these facts were rather unpleasant.
It turned out that Rodchenkov and his family members were involved in several criminal schemes at once. The main goal of all schemes was to market doping drugs to athletes. The charges were brought against Gregory's sister and her husband, who were caught red-handed while transferring illegal drugs to a representative of one of the athletes.
When the criminal chain was discovered, searches were carried out in several houses at once. Rodchenkov hastened to shift the charges onto the system as a whole, and was forced to literally flee the country. His statements after his escape caused irreparable damage to the reputation of Russian athletes and the country's sports system as a whole.
What threatens Rodchenkov under Russian law
The Russian Investigative Committee began criminal prosecution of Grigory Rodchenkov and put him on the international wanted list. The ex-director of the anti-doping center is accused of using his powers in order to obtain benefits and many other crimes.
Information that Rodchenkov is also charged with libel has not yet been officially confirmed. It is only known for certain that all his accusations against the Russian Olympic Committee are rejected. They are based on no reliable facts, and this is obvious, moreover, it is partially recognized at the WADA level.
After his escape, Rodchenkov gave numerous interviews in which he openly accused sports officials and athletes of the Russian Federation of various levels of using doping and concealing these facts. In addition, Rodchenkov declares threats against him, which allegedly forced him to undergo plastic surgery to radically change his appearance.
In the public opinion, there is very little logic in the actions of Grigory Rodchenkov. Gradually, interest in him disappears, and less and less is written about him in the Russian and foreign media. How the story will end is not clear. At the moment, it is known that Rodchenkov is hiding in the United States. There is no talk of extraditing him to the Russian authorities.
