Mark Stuart

Published in the Pharmaceutical Journal UK, 2006

Implementation of the doping control program began as a challenge for the Organisers of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Normally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualifies and expels athletes for doping at the Olympics, but does not issue or support criminal penalties. However, under Italy’s strict anti-doping law, athletes can face criminal sanctions for drug offences.

Drug testing at national and international sporting events in Italy is usually conducted by the Italian Health Ministry. In the months before the Games, the ministry undersecretary threatened to send police to conduct drug tests on Olympic athletes during the Games, to ensure that Italian law was being complied with and that criminal sanctions were issued when a doping offence was found. After ongoing discussions with the IOC, the Italian Health Ministry eventually backed down from its demand to conduct tests during the Games and put the IOC in charge of all testing. However, no change was made to the law imposing criminal sanctions, which the Ministry stated is aimed at protecting the health of athletes.

International doping collaboration

This is the first Winter Olympic Games since the World Anti-Doping Code has been accepted by all major sport federations and over 180 governments, making it the most robust anti-doping program at any Winter Games to date. The International Olympic Committee stipulates that any sport wishing to be a part of the Winter Olympic Program must have accepted and implemented the World Anti-Doping Code, which outlines the process by which drug testing should be conducted and also provides the list of substances prohibited or restricted in sport. To enable governments to fully implement this code which was accepted in 2003 in time for the Athens Games, a two part process was undertaken.

Firstly, governments had to sign the Copenhagen Declaration which was the political document indicating governments’ commitment to the code. The second step was for governments to implement the International Convention against Doping in Sport, which was backed by UNESCO. This convention provided individual countries with the practical means of harmonising their local policies with the code. At present, individual governments are in the process of amending local doping control practices to comply with this global policy.

With its zero tolerance approach to doping, the IOC, together with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and the Turin Organising Committee (TOROC) was responsible for the anti-doping operations at these Winter Games. Under the authority of the IOC, TOROC was responsible for implementing testing at all the Olympic venues, and WADA implemented the testing for athletes who resided or trained outside the Olympic venues. The management of the laboratory results and any sanctions imposed on athletes who test positive for a prohibited substance was the sole responsibility of the IOC.

Olympic drug testing

Around 1200 tests were conducted over the entire period of the Winter Olympic Games. This covered the four weeks from the opening of the Athlete Village until the Closing Ceremony on February 26. Given that there were around 2500 athletes competing, the likelihood of being tested was very high and inevitable for all medal winners.

The number of urine tests was 20 percent more than the previous Winter Games in Salt Lake City and for the first time in Winter Olympic history, blood tests were conducted. This resulted in around a 70 percent total increase in the number of tests performed than the Salt Lake City Games. An additional 280 samples will be collected and tested throughout the duration of the Paralympic Games.

Olympic laboratory

In January 2004, WADA was responsible for accrediting 33 laboratories worldwide. This ensured that they all met the international standards of quality for the testing for prohibited substances in urine and blood samples. In Italy, the laboratory accredited was the Laboratorio Antidoping in Rome. This laboratory was given the responsibility of processing all of the Olympic doping tests, with its activities closely overseen by WADA.

In order to process the huge volume of tests quickly, this whole laboratory was relocated to Turin for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A brand new temporary laboratory was built within the premises of the hospital in Orbassano, Turin for this purpose, which will be handed back to a local anti-doping consortium after the Games. The laboratory was staffed by 45 scientists, but the total team including support staff totalled around 80 people.

Prohibited substances

The full range of drugs on the prohibited list was tested for during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games competition period. The categories of prohibited substances include: anabolic agents, stimulants, hormones (and related substances), beta-2 agonists, anti-estrogenic agents, narcotics, cannabinoids, corticosteroids, diuretics and other masking agents. The full current list of prohibited substances can be found on the WADA website (www.wada-ama.org).

In addition, athletes competing in some Winter Olympic sports are subject to testing for specific substances that are considered performance enhancing for that particular discipline. For example, beta blockers are prohibited and tested for in curling, bobsleigh, ski jumping, freestyle aerial skiing and snowboard half pipe events, where they may be used to reduce tremor and to increase the athlete’s ability to maintain precision during manoeuvres. They may also be tested for in athletes competing in the biathlon which is a combination of cross country skiing and target shooting—beta blockers can steady the hand which may be advantageous in the shooting component of this event.

Doping control facilities at Olympic venues

Each of the 14 Olympic competition venues had a new purpose built doping station, comprising of an athlete reception and waiting area, clinical room and toilets for the collection of urine samples. In addition, there was a larger doping station within each of the three Athlete Villages with facilities for collection of blood samples.

The doping station at each venue was responsible for a combination of random sample collection at preliminary and qualifying events, as well as collection of urine samples from each of the medal winners. Each medal winner was also required to report for a blood sample collection within 24 hours of being notified, at one of the larger doping stations at an Athlete Village.

The doping control team comprised of volunteer doping experts from all over the world. A large proportion of the doping escorts were from Turin who, in addition to Italian, spoke either one of the official Olympic languages: English or French. They were responsible for notifying the athletes either immediately after they compete, or within the Village, that they have been selected for a test. Local doctors would then act as the doping control officer who would oversee the actual urine or blood collection and paperwork back at the doping station.

Within each of the larger stations at one of the three Athlete Villages, up to 14 doping control staff were on duty at any one time. This enabled a quick response to faxed notifications from the IOC Medical Commission for random sample collection within the Village.

The World Anti-Doping Agency

The World Anti Doping Agency had a very prominent presence in Turin and was responsible for a number of important activities to support both the anti-doping operations of the Games and to provide education to athletes. This included responsibility for pre-Games testing, the monitoring and review of any therapeutic use exemption given to athletes taking medicine for therapeutic use, and the monitoring of any sanctions given to athletes by the IOC during the Games.

Independent WADA observers from around the world were assigned to oversee and report on the activities of individual doping stations at different times. This was to ensure that all phases of doping control were being carried out appropriately and in a fair unbiased manner.

Additionally, the WADA Athlete Outreach Program had a stand at each of the three Athlete Villages and provided athletes with information about doping issues. The stands were staffed by anti-doping experts and retired athletes from around the world. Athletes were encouraged to take part in a doping quiz to win prizes to help enforce the quality and credibility of the anti-doping message. Educational material including an athlete guide to drug testing and copies of the prohibited list were available in many languages. The WADA Outreach Program will also be present at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.