With two IAAF World Championships being held within a one month period it is a busy time for the IAAF Medical and Anti-Doping Department who have planned to collect nearly 500 samples between the two events.
The IAAF has already realised half of this goal by implementing an intensive programme of doping control at the recently completed 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships which were held in Moscow, Russia from 10-12 March. In total, 252 samples were collected during the period from 8-12 March in Moscow.
Of these 252 samples, 94 were taken prior to the competition, the majority of which were blood samples collected for the purpose of gathering haematological profiles and screening for the indication of EPO abuse. A further 158 samples were collected during the competition itself of which 85 were analysed for the presence of EPO (erythropoietin). Such a large number of tests would not have been possible without the support of the Local Organising Committee and the willingness of the IAAF athletes to prove their performances are clean.
The analysis process for the Moscow samples is nearly complete. “90% of the results have been received back from the testing conducted at the Championships in Russia and we are pleased that so far there are no positive tests to report. We are greatly encouraged by the commitment of our athletes to the anti-doping process”, said IAAF President Lamine Diack.
The next major event on the IAAF calendar is the World Cross Country Championships to be held this weekend (1-2 April) in Fukuoka Japan.
A significant anti-doping programme in Fukuoka will see a similar number of samples taken compared with Moscow. Approximately 230 samples have been collected with the emphasis once again on the blood screening prior to competition. All samples taken during the event, which start today, will include analysis for EPO and results will be released as soon as they are available.
The detailed information and data received from this recent large number of tests will greatly assist the IAAF as it continues to plan the most important part of its anti-doping programme – and effective and targeted out-of-competition testing campaign.
IAAF