Number of controls, targeted nations… Seven questions on the Olympic Games anti-doping program

From July 24 to August 11, 10,500 athletes will compete for podiums in the 329 events on the program of the Paris Olympic Games. To guarantee the integrity of the competitions – and to avoid the late redistribution of medals won by cheaters – thousands of urine and blood tests will be conducted during the event. Franceinfo: sport gives you the details of the anti-doping program.

Who is responsible for the anti-doping program?

In the run-up to the Olympic Games, national anti-doping agencies and international sports federations are responsible for testing athletes. During the Olympic fortnight, this responsibility falls to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the IOC has delegated the organization and conduct of tests to the International Testing Agency (ITA), an independent authority created in 2017 following the Russian state doping scandal.

As with every edition, the organizing committee (Cojo) must finance the equipment and infrastructure and provide the necessary personnel. To assist it in this mission, it has decided to rely on two service providers: the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) and the French Anti-Doping Laboratory (LADF).

How many checks will be carried out?

The ITA plans to carry out 6,000 tests, from the opening to the closing of the Olympic Village. At the previous Summer Games, those in Tokyo in 2021, 30% of athletes were tested. Regarding French athletes, the AFLD will carry out 12,000 tests in 2024. “The number may change depending on needs, risks and suspicions,” says Benjamin Cohen, Director General of the ITA. The controls may be notified to athletes during competitions or outside (in hotels, on training sites, etc.). Control stations will be installed in almost all event sites.

Urine and blood tests will be carried out. Another method used: testing using a dried drop of blood. Less intrusive and faster, this process involves pricking the athlete’s shoulder or finger with a mini-needle. From the samples obtained, the laboratory will also be able, if necessary, to carry out genetic tests to detect certain forms of doping.

“The ITA will choose who to control, when and what type of control, and will say whether specific analyses must be carried out. It will send its orders to the anti-doping coordination and command center. The Cojo and the AFLD will process these requests by finding a sampler and giving the mission order”, adds Jérémy Roubin, general secretary of the AFLD.

How are the athletes to be tested chosen?

The ITA’s work begins a year before the Olympics. “We list the athletes who are likely to qualify. We look at the number of tests they have been subjected to. And we provide recommendations to the national anti-doping agencies,” describes Benjamin Cohen. These recommendations are based on “a risk analysis” conducted by the independent institution based in Switzerland.

The type of sport (endurance or strength disciplines, such as athletics or weightlifting, are more risky than precision ones, such as shooting), geographical origin and the background of each athlete come into play. “To rank the delegations, we consider Transparency International’s corruption perception index, the country’s doping history, the development of its national anti-doping agency,” lists the ITA’s director general. During the Olympics, the agency will invest more resources in the sports, delegations and athletes most at risk.

For this edition, the ITA will also be able to count on the powers of investigation and inquiry, reinforced in 2021, of the AFLD, and the relationships established by the agency with many stakeholders (customs, Oclaesp, which is the police service responsible for the fight against the trafficking of doping products, the tax administration, etc.). “We should be able to have suitcases opened at the airport in case of suspicion. This remains innovative,” assures Benjamin Cohen.

How many people are mobilized?

The Olympic Games anti-doping program will mobilize a thousand people. The central function is occupied by the samplers. They accompany the athletes throughout the entire sampling process, but without touching anything themselves to avoid any future dispute. There will be 300 of them, a third of whom already work for the AFLD.

All samplers will have received international-level certification from the ITA. To strengthen the French workforce, the latter and the AFLD have recruited and trained 31 new samplers in 2023. Some of them will remain in the French agency’s pool after the Olympic Games.

Alongside them will be 500 chaperones, selected from the volunteer battalion, who will notify the athlete of their control, explain their rights and obligations and accompany them to the control room. Several dozen of them have already officiated for the AFLD. “This allows the Cojo to have experienced people on which to rely,” says Jeremy Roubin.

Finally, the laboratory will have up to a hundred people and around thirty ITA experts will go to Paris.

How long will it take to receive the results?

The result will come very quickly “to maintain the integrity of the sport”, promises the ITA’s general director. “In principle, according to international standards, the result should be known within twenty-one days. During the Games, the process is accelerated so that the result is announced within twenty-four hours”, says Benjamin Cohen. In Paris, the delay could be extended to forty-eight hours. “given the tight budget”, justifies the head of the independent international testing authority. During the Tokyo Games, six tests were positive.

What happens if the result is positive?

After an initial verification process, the athlete has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample. The procedure takes a few hours. “If the B sample result confirms the positive test, the athlete is provisionally suspended. Then, an ITA lawyer independently presents the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. [TAS]“, explains Benjamin Cohen. To allow for a rapid study of the cases, an ad hoc chamber of the CAS will set up shop this summer in Paris. Enough to allow judges to rule within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, as opposed to several months usually.

What happens to the samples?

The World Anti-Doping Code allows the ITA to retain samples for ten years. They will be re-analysed in the event of suspicion or technological advances in the detection of prohibited substances. “Usually, if the budget allows, just before the end of the ten-day period years, we are launching a large campaign to reanalyze everything,” specifies the director of the ITA. The Paris 2024 rankings could therefore evolve until 2034.