World Athletics Championships 2022: Robust anti-doping policy to catch culprits

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced a robust anti-doping program to catch culprits during the World Athletics Championships.

The announcement comes a day after the body provisionally suspended Botswana’s star 800-meter runner Nijel Amos for anti-doping violations.

The World Athletics Championship will commence on July 15 and will take place in Eugene, Oregon. Amos was scheduled to compete on July 20 in the 800 meter heats.

The AIU, along with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), will collect Dried Blood Spot (DBS) samples using a new, less-intrusive blood collection device.

The AIU recently made a statement saying:

“The DBS requires just a few drops of blood, collected via an upper arm prick. The blood is applied to a special type of absorbent support, which is then sealed and sent to a WADA-accredited laboratory for analysis.”

AIU to conduct rigorous tests ahead of World Athletics Championships

The AIU will collect as many as 600 pre-competition tests, which are being conducted at a dedicated doping control station in the Athlete’s Village. This operation is another step in the AIU’s continued drive towards innovation and efficiency in its quest to ensure fairness in sports.

The testing program at the World Athletics Championships will contribute to the development of DBS as a viable and complementary alternative to the current anti-doping practice.

Chairman of the AIU, David Howman, said in a statement:

“The collection and subsequent transport of blood samples is extremely challenging, especially for organizations like the AIU which operate on a global scale.”

“DBS is an exciting innovation in anti-doping that will ultimately facilitate the more efficient collection and transportation of samples for anti-doping agencies and provide a better athlete experience.”

Meanwhile, there will also be 500 in-competition tests across all events. The samples will be analyzed by WADA-accredited labs in Salt Lake City and Lausanne.

Most of the samples collected during the 2022 World Athletics Championships will be kept in a long-term storage facility for future re-analyses, as anti-doping science develops.

Travis Tygart, CEO of USADA, said in a recent statement:

"We are excited to be working alongside our strong independent partner, the AIU, in delivering this robust anti-doping program and innovative DBS testing to protect clean athletes."

"As the host nation's independent anti-doping organization, together with the AIU, we are determined for this event to be a celebration of clean sport."