Catching Drugs Cheats, Drug Testing & The Doping Debate

[Socapro]

IAAF accused of ‘burying doping survey’
Published on Aug 11, 2015, 11:53 pm AST (T&T Express)


A survey that revealed up to a third of top athletes admitted using banned performance-enhancing techniques was allegedly suppressed by the sport’s governing body. The results of the study showed that 29 to 34 per cent of 1,800 competitors broke anti-doping rules, the Sunday Times and ARD-WDR German TV have claimed.
 
It was carried out by researchers at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, who carried out confidential interviews with athletes at the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea.
 
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) told the newspaper it was still in negotiations with the study authors and the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) about its publication.
 
“These findings demonstrate that doping is remarkably widespread among elite athletes, and remains largely unchecked despite current biological testing programmes,” the study said.
 
Researchers allege they were told to sign a confidentiality agreement and have now criticised the IAAF for preventing its publication.
 
“The IAAF’s delaying publication for so long without good reason is a serious encroachment on the freedom of publication,” the researchers said in a statement.
 
They added the IAAF had not commissioned the survey but had used its influence to suppress the findings.
 
The lead author, Rolf Ulrich, said his team had been barred from discussing their work. He said: “The IAAF is blocking it. I think they are stakeholders with WADA and they just blocked the whole thing.”
 
The study was financed by WADA who told the newspaper it had given the IAAF the power to veto publication in return for allowing access to the athletes at Daegu.
 
Some of the study was leaked in America in 2013 but the governing body prevented the full publication of the findings, the newspaper alleged.
 
The IAAF has denied suggestions any veto took place. “The IAAF has never vetoed publication of this article,” it said in a statement.
 
“The IAAF does however have serious reservations as to the interpretation of the results made by the research group as confirmed by high-profile experts in social science who reviewed the publication on our request.
 
“The IAAF submitted those concerns to the research group but has never heard back from them.”

[Socapro]

16 AUG 2015 Press Release Monaco
IAAF statement in response to Sunday Times article on a study conducted at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu


The IAAF has noted today’s article in The Sunday Times claiming yet another ‘sensational’ revelation, this time concerning the alleged results of a study which was carried out at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea. This is not a new story, having first been raised on German TV in 2013, and those concerns were addressed by the IAAF at the time.

The study in question was a social science based survey conducted by WADA and a team of researchers at the Athletes’ village in Daegu. The purpose of the study was to assess the reliability of potential new methods of evaluating the prevalence of doping in sport using more of a social science approach (randomised-response survey). The survey was intended to be extended to multi-sport events and no publication was ever evoked. In fact, the survey was only ever repeated once, with a revised methodology, at the Pan-Arabic Games where mainly athletes were interviewed.

The IAAF was therefore surprised when it was informed in early 2013 that an article had already been submitted by the research team for publication in a scientific journal without the IAAF’s knowledge. The IAAF understands that the article was rejected for publication.

Summary

• The IAAF has never vetoed publication of this article. The IAAF is extremely surprised to see WADA quoted on Friday as saying that the IAAF has a right of veto (if the quote used by the Sunday Times is in fact accurate. The quote in the article attributed from yesterday to the IAAF was never made).

• The IAAF does however have serious reservations as to the interpretation of the results made by the research group as confirmed by high-profile experts in social science who reviewed the publication on our request. The IAAF submitted those concerns to the research group but has never heard back from them.

• The IAAF understands that the article in question was submitted for publication but it was rejected.

• The IAAF is surprised that any professional team of social science researchers should choose consistently to leak research material through the media before it is published. 

• The IAAF is continuing the prevalence study started in 2011 based on reliable, analytical results derived from the Athlete Biological Passport programme. It is a priority for us and we aim at finalising an article for scientific publication, in coordination with WADA.

• The IAAF is the only sport federation to have conducted a prevalence study to date and we encourage other sports to do the same.

IAAF

[Socapro]

19 AUG 2015 FEATURE BEIJING, CHINA
CHEATS BEWARE! THE IAAF ANTI-DOPING STRATEGY AHEAD OF BEIJING


A comprehensive and far reaching anti-doping programme has been carried out in the countdown to the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015.

The Q-and-A below give details about the IAAF strategy to catch the cheats.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE IAAF APPROACH TO TESTING IN THE COUNTDOWN TO THE 2015 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEIJING 2015?

The key point is that the core part of the testing programme really started over six months ago.

The IAAF out-of-competition testing programme for the last six months, and more, has been targeted at those athletes likely to be competing in Beijing.

The most important time to be testing many athletes is during the off season when heavy training loads are taking place and this approach is no secret; but it is often easier for sports to simply to pile on the tests during an event itself and claim a successful anti-doping programme.

The reality in athletics is far from that scenario. The testing in Beijing will be important but nowhere near as important as a truly no-notice out-of-competition (OOC) programme conducted during the preceding six months, or longer.

The OOC testing has been intelligence led, and specifically targeted based on known risk factors for doping.

The IAAF also liaises closely with the various national anti-doping agencies to ensure that its own OOC testing is maximised, concentrating on filling the gaps where no effective national testing programmes exist.

Other times that are just as important to test include, for example, the lead up to qualification events, or when we know that athletes will chasing qualification marks.

The IAAF is also heavily utilising specialist analysis such as the IRMS (isotope-ratio mass spectrometry) test for EPO, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and other substances. It is more expensive and, at times, harder to co-ordinate, but it is crucial that as often as possible the tests are analysed for all possible banned substances (based on the risk factors for the relevant discipline).

DOES YOUR ANTI-DOPING STRATEGY DIFFER FROM THE IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MOSCOW 2013?

It doesn't differ greatly, but there are a few small and important differences. The IAAF continues to build its biological passport database. For the blood passport, this means we have more profiles to guide target testing which helps determine where and when testing occurs.

We also concentrate during this lead up period in adding to existing suspicious profiles.

Also new since Moscow is the addition of the steroidal (urine) component of the biological passport.

This acts in the same way as the previous blood passport but uses parameters within the urine sample to look for changes in steroidal values. Again, with these new profiles, the IAAF is better able to target its testing including the use of the IRMS test to detect exogenous steroid use. 

Certainly these new steroidal passports are providing some excellent information to assist the IAAF with targeting.

WILL YOU BE BLOOD TESTING IN THE COUNTDOWN AND DURING THE IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEIJING 2015?

Absolutely. Blood testing forms an important part of the IAAF programme and is collected throughout the year and also specifically at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing too.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BLOOD TESTING?

There are essentially two different forms of blood testing used as part of the IAAF programme. Blood samples taken for the purpose of being used in the biological passport (and they form part of a longditudinal study, but can't be used as a one-off test as proof of doping), and blood samples taken for the purpose of detecting prohibited substances.

There are some small differences in the way the samples are collected.  With the biggest being that for blood passport samples, athletes are required to have rested at least two hours before sample collection.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLOOD TESTING AND URINE TESTING?

The main difference is that the samples are used to look for different substances.  Steroids and EPO for example are found through the urine samples, while the test for HGH is done with blood samples.

There are obvious differences in the collection techniques - with blood being a lot less intrusive than the witnessing procedures for urine, although those athletes who don't like needles would probably argue that point!

Finally, there are also differences in the requirements by the IAAF for shipping of samples. There are stricter rules on how quickly blood samples need to arrive at a laboratory for analysis whereas, in general, the urine samples – as long as they are not subject to temperature variations – are a lot more stable.

WHAT IS YOUR IN-COMPETITION ANTI-DOPING PROGRAMME?

In order to maintain the integrity of the programme, the IAAF doesn't disclose its actual testing programme for the event.  Suffice to say, it will include testing both pre- and in-competition.  There will be a significant amount of testing, but the emphasis on the programme is on quality rather than quantity. 

CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR ANTI-DOPING STRATEGY DURING THE IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEIJING 2015?

The programme revolves around protecting the value of the world championship medals, while the OOC programme is the most important, it is still crucial that athletes are not able to attend the world championships and gain an advantage in their events.

Testing will target medal winners, but certainly they are not the only athletes who will be tested. Again, the IAAF will use all the intelligence it has at its disposal to target testing, where it thinks they are most warranted. Additionally, it is important to point out that the IAAF will be storing samples from this event for future re-analysis. 

The new WADA Code has increased the statute of limitations to 10 years, so at any stage during that period the IAAF can re-analyse the samples using new technology to look back and try to catch cheats.

Already this technique has caught out athletes from previous world championships (and Olympic Games), and should serve as a warning to those who are doping.

Steve Landells for the IAAF

[Socapro]

Bolt: I can’t save track and field
Published on Aug 20, 2015, 8:54 pm AST (T&T Express)

Strong man: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt flexes his muscles jokingly while responding to a question from members of the media during a press conference, yesterday, in Beijing, China. Bolt will be competing in the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Beijing, where he will look to retain his Men’s 100 and 200m world titles. —Photo: AP

Beijing\\\\\

He set world records, won Olympic gold medals, danced on the track and made the sprint game feel fun again.

One thing Usain Bolt cannot do, he insists, is serve as the lone saviour for track and field.

“I can't do it by myself,” Bolt said yesterday.

Back in Beijing, where he set three world records and won three gold medals at the 2008 Olympics, the world's fastest man is preparing for the World Championships this time around.

But his news conference yesterday was less about reminiscing and more about the topic that has swallowed up his sport of late: doping.

“People say I need to win for the sport,” he said. “But there are a lot of other athletes who are running clean, and they've been running clean their whole career. It's not just on me but on all the athletes.”

A report this summer from German broadcaster ARD and the Sunday Times in Britain found that 146 Olympic and World Championship medals in middle- and long-distance races were won by athletes who have recorded suspicious tests. The International Association of Athletics Federations has strongly denounced the report while defending its anti-doping practices.

Even while his own country, Jamaica, has come under scrutiny for its less-than-robust anti-doping programme, Bolt has remained unscathed. But when he lines up in the final on Sunday (assuming he makes it), his main competition figures to come from American sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay and Jamaican teammate Asafa Powell, all of whom have served doping suspensions over their careers.

One reporter equated the race to a showdown between good (Bolt) and evil (Gatlin). Neither runner bought into that.

“I'm not trying to win any popularity contests or win anybody over,” Gatlin said in an interview with the Associated Press, shortly after Bolt's news conference ended.

“I'm trying to do what I'm supposed to do. Hopefully my actions on the track will show that to the people who really care. That's all that really matters.”

Gatlin, who has this year's best time at 9.74 seconds, can race because rules specifically ensure that an athlete who has doped can return to the sport if he's served out his suspension. Some find this unfair. Bolt doesn't want to wade into that debate, either.

“Rules are rules and are there for a reason,” Bolt said.

“If the rules say you can get back in the sport, I can't do anything about it. I abide by the rules and that's pretty much all.”

Bolt, who turns 29 today, pointed at his left hip and described what's been holding him back this year as a joint problem that prevents him from getting to full power on his stride. He's raced in only one meet all season, where he ran a 9.87 in the 100, but said recent training sessions have been going well.

“It's frustrating when you can't go out and prove yourself,” he said.

But his coach, Glen Mills, has been smiling and giving Bolt the thumbs-up after recent practice sessions.

“For me, I'm not worried about anything,” Bolt said. “As long as my coach is happy.”

Along with his health, some time at the news conference was spent getting caught up on the really important stuff: —His goatee will stay for the worlds. He's superstitious and wants to stick with that look for now, and a clean shave when the Olympics come.

—At the Beijing Olympics, Bolt dined almost exclusively on Chicken McNuggets. He said there's better food available this time—and, at 29, he needs to be more careful about what he eats, anyway—so that won't be his diet.

—In 2008, his birthday fell during the Olympics, and fans at the Bird's Nest serenaded him with “Happy Birthday” —one of the many memorable moments he enjoyed that year. This time, though, it falls on the day before the start of competition.

“Zero plans for tomorrow,” he said.

“I'm sure someone will get me a cake.”

Then, the subject turned back to performance enhancers.

“All I've been hearing about the past couple weeks is doping, doping, doping,” Bolt said.

“It definitely is sad that it's in the forefront of the World Championships, and it's not about the competition that's coming up. For me, it's sad but I can't do anything about it because you're the ones writing about it.”

[keelz]

Michael doesnt like Gatlin

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/zLdjvZMNxfA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/zLdjvZMNxfA</a>

[Deeks]

Michael doesnt like Gatlin

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/zLdjvZMNxfA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/zLdjvZMNxfA</a>

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/2302250/Michael-Johnson-Why-drugs-cheat-shamed-me-into-handing-back-Olympic-relay-gold-medal.html

Remember Mike was on the US relay team that had some members who used drugs.