When was drug testing introduced

His method reduced the screening process from 15 steps to three, and was considered so scientifically accurate that no outside challenges to his findings were allowed.

Donike died of a heart attack on August 21, at the age of Ironically, he was en route to the All-African Games to set up a drug testing laboratory. Don Caitlin at the time. Today, Agilent is a leader in gas chromatography , liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Ever since the Olympic Games, the company has been the major supplier of drug-testing equipment for elite sports competitions worldwide, including the World Cup and the Tour de France. Agilent also provides drug-testing solutions to law enforcement and forensics laboratories around the world. In line with previous cases, based on analysis of Athlete Biological Passports, the recent decision by the United States Anti-Doping Agency USADA to impose a sanction of lifetime ineligibility and disqualification on cyclist Lance Armstrong shows that the anti-doping authorities use the full range of non-analytical ADRV to sanction athletes and those associated with athletes who have contravened the anti-doping regulations 2.

However, the identification of the presence of a Prohibited Substance in an athlete through the analytical testing of urine or blood samples remains the principal method to determine an ADRV. This article outlines the procedures for the testing of substances and methods in sport according to the WADA International Standard on Testing 3.

Emphasis is placed on recent developments to strengthen these testing procedures. Finally, a brief review is made of the testing systems that were in place at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Each Anti-Doping Organisation, with responsibility for testing, must develop a plan for the efficient and effective allocation of its testing resources across the different sports under its authority. In the case of a National Anti-Doping Organisation, this plan should be across the different countries within its jurisdiction and in the case of an International Federation IF , across the different disciplines within the sports under its control.

The procedure for drug testing can be broadly divided into the following stages:. During the results reporting stage, where an ADRV has occurred, there are precise rules concerning the imposition of sanctions. These include anabolic agents, peptide hormones, beta-2 agonists and diuretics and other masking agents. These include stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids and glucocorticosteroids.

At national and international sporting events, the period of testing is normally from 12 hours prior to competing up until the end of the competition. However, this period may vary, as described below for Olympic Games. Within competition, athletes are normally selected for testing as a result of their success in an event, however random selection of athletes is also undertaken.

Any other Anti-Doping Organisation that has testing jurisdiction over the athlete. In addition to the random selection of athletes for testing, Anti-Doping Organisations are required to select athletes for sample collection using target testing methods.

Target testing is based on the intelligent assessment of the risks of doping and the most effective use of resources to ensure optimum detection and deterrence. The factors used to determine who should be made the subject of target testing vary between different sports but include some or all of the following:. Testing of athletes can be conducted at any time, in any place and with no prior notice.

To facilitate this process, athletes are now subject to Whereabouts Filing 5 Table 2. Equivalent management systems are used by other countries. The DCO requires the athlete to sign a form to acknowledge and accept the notification.

Athletes are continuously chaperoned from the time of notification to the arrival at the designated Doping Control Station. Valid reasons for such a delay are shown in Table 3. For urine samples, the DCO must ensure an unobstructed view of the sample leaving the athletes body. The athlete always has control of their own sample.

Blood testing generally follows the same procedures as urine testing except that the sample is taken by a Blood Collection Officer.

Detailed information is documented at the time of testing. This includes what medications and supplements were taken by the athlete within the previous 7 days. At the end of the sample collection session the athlete and the DCO sign the appropriate documentation to indicate the session was conducted to the satisfaction of both parties. When the sample and accompanying documents are taken from the Doping Control Station, each transfer of custody from one person to another should be documented, up until the sample arrives at its intended destination Chain of Custody.

Gas chromatography and liquid chromatography are techniques used to separate drugs and their metabolites within the sample. This is coupled with mass spectrometry to determine the structure of any drugs or metabolites identified. Affinity binding assays immunoassays are also used routinely to detect macromolecules in urine samples. Blood testing is used to detect the manipulation of blood through transfusion, to identify biomarkers for human growth hormone and to quantify endogenous blood parameters haemoglobin, haematocrit and reticulocytes.

The results of laboratory analyses are reported to the appropriate Anti-Doping Organisation, which is normally the sport governing body or the competition event organiser. If the analysis did not detect a prohibited substance or method, the athlete is informed and results are routinely recorded on ADAMS. Some organisations, such as the IOC, retain samples for up to 8 years in order to undertake retrospective analysis. Sanctions for ADVR involve disqualification and ineligibility, according to the nature of the violation.

Whether in- or out-of-competition, the athlete would also normally serve a period of ineligibility to compete, as determined by their sport governing body. An official of the U. Track Federation said such testing of American athletes will begin even sooner, with random tests set to begin July 1. Harmon Brown of the U. Track Federation said the federation plans an out-of-competition program to test the top 15 athletes in each event. He hoped three-fourths of that pool of athletes will face checks in the coming year.

The concept is raising hopes that it will drastically reduce doping.