IOC to retest 2006 Games Samples; Support for Whereabouts

5/10/2010

Turin 2006 Samples Retest

After recommendations from WADA, the IOC is retesting select samples from the Turin 2006 Games for the blood booster CERA.

WADA uncovered new information regarding athletes using CERA during the Games and informed the IOC it should retest blood and urine samples collected at the Olympics. CERA is a blood-booster, which can help the performance of endurance athletes.

The use of CERA in Turin occurred before the drug went on the market.

WADA President John Fahey said WADA received new information earlier this year regarding athletes using CERA at the Games and gave it directly to the IOC.

During a Monday conference call with reporters, Fahey would not into go into specifics on the matter, and stressed the need to keep sources confidential to protect the investigative power of WADA.

The IOC keeps samples from the Olympics for eight years for the purpose of retesting. Doping violators can lose their medals years after an Olympics if samples turn up positive.

“The storage of samples can lead to sanctions put in place years after the event,” Fahey said.

"An athlete who thinks he or she has got through a major event with some success through doping should continue to look over their shoulder because over the next few years there is this capacity to re-analyze samples that have been stored and we are now seeing a reanalysis of samples by the IOC of an event which took place four years ago.”

Last year, the IOC stripped Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi of the gold he won in the 1,500 meters in the Beijing 2008 Games following retesting. He was one of six athletes caught using CERA through the retesting process.

Support for Whereabouts Rule

Fahey says International Federations and national anti-doping organizations overwhelmingly support the controversial whereabouts rule, despite a need to better understand the rule.

WADA leaders reviewed the whereabouts rule during Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings in Montreal over the weekend.

“The review has shown us first of all that there is overwhelmingly support for the principle of whereabouts and overwhelmingly successful implementation of the rules” Fahey said.

The review also revealed a need for better understanding of the whereabouts rule by IFs and NADOs. Fahey would like to see organizations use whereabouts information that it collected instead of letting the information go to waste.

WADA is working on developing user-friendly guidelines for better implantation of the rule. WADA will review the guidelines in November, but Fahey does not expect any major overhaul of whereabouts to occur.

“There is no wish from anybody to change the whereabouts rule but we want it to be practical and we will continue to work to achieve that”.

More EPO Testing for Winter Games

A WADA Independent Observer team at the Vancouver Games recommends an increase of testing for the blood booster EPO in endurance sports at future Olympics.

WADA experts made the recommendation in a report published last week about doping procedures during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. The team reviewed doping procedures throughout the competition.

The report concluded that the IOC should increase the number of tests for EPO, especially in endurance sports including biathlon and long track speed skating.

“The IO Team suggests that the IOC consider reallocating some tests that were conducted in low risk sports (as identified by the IOC) such as curling to other higher risk sports. Conducting tests during every round of a curling event may not be necessary; some of these tests may be better used as target tests for other higher risk sports,” the report said.

While the report made a total of 52 recommendations, it mostly approved of testing procedure during the Games. WADA praised the way testers handled samples and the chain of custody of samples.

Fahey would not go into details of the report with reporters as he stressed that independent status of the observer team. He did say that he is confident that the IOC will review the report.

“They won’t ignore those suggestions,” Fahey said of the IOC. “They have shown in the past with other reports provided by independent observer teams to be responsive to what will improve the program for the next Games.”

Written by Sam Steinberg.

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