WADA disturbed by alligations of widespread doping in international athletics

The documentary alleges that ARD and The Sunday Times obtained a leaked database, belonging to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which contained more than 12,000 blood tests from around 5,000 athletes in the years 2001 to 2012. These samples belongs to numerous Olympic and World champions. ARD-Doping Editorial team based in the WDR, together with the British newspaper the Sunday Times, has statistically analyzed the findings. Then they passed it on to leading doping experts for their review. With the Australians Michael Ashenden and Robin Parisotto, two of the world’s most experienced scientists in the field of blood doping were commissioned with the analysis by the WDR. Ashenden and Parisotto, both co-inventors of the EPO detection method, came to a sobering conclusion: A total of 800 athletes in disciplines from 800 metres to the Marathon register values which, according to the definition of the Biological Passport of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are regarded as suspicious or even highly suspicious. Disturbed - WADA is very disturbed by these new allegations that have been raised by ARD; which will, once again, shake the foundation of clean athletes worldwide, said Sir Craig Reedie, President, WADA. - Given the nature of these allegations, which are an extension to those that were raised by ARD’s December 2014 documentary, they will immediately be handed over to WADA’s Independent Commission for further investigation, continued Reedie. - These allegations require swift and close scrutiny to determine whether there have in fact been breaches under the World Anti-Doping Code and, if so, what actions are required to be taken by WADA and/or other bodies. As always, WADA is committed to doing what’s necessary to ensure a level playing field for clean athletes of the world. Independent Commission ARD’s December 2014 documentary led to formation of an Independent Commission, chaired by WADA’s founding President, Dick Pound. The role of the Commission is to investigate the validity of allegations of doping practices; corrupt practices around sample collection and results management; and, other ineffective administration of anti-doping processes that implicate Russia, the IAAF, athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors and other members of athletes’ entourages; as well as, the accredited laboratory based in Moscow and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). The Independent Commission is scheduled to deliver its report to WADA’s President by year-end unless he deems it appropriate to extend the mandate. Ridiculous claims The Swedish doping expert, and one of the founding fathers of WADA, Arne Ljungqvist, finds the claims in the German documentary ridicilous. – To begin sweeping accusations about him that I have seen in this context, it does not fit. Then you are wrong there. There's no evidence of doping. It is suspected values, but what is it? They do not say. There is not enough evidence to go out and accusing sheeting with doping samples, it is not at all what it is the issue, he says to the Swedish newspaper Expressen. He also emphasizes that blood samples should be supplemented by urine tests for doping to be proved. - Blood values ​​as the basis for assessment of possible blood doping was introduced by WADA fall of 2009, in other words from the season of 2010. Before that, the blood values ​​a very unreliable method. And blood passports have been used the past few years an increasing degree. Then you can possibly uncover some forms of blood doping but it is quite uncertain. The most common form of blood doping is Erythropoietin and it revealed with urine, not blood. Irritated Lungqvist also indicate that the two experts who analyzed the samples in the leaked database does not belong to the IAAF - and hence no one can know how the federation has acted. - The persons who have looked at the samples knows nothing about. They are not included to the IAAF. There one can always hear with the IAAF. They tell you they have moved on, said Ljungqvist. - This is ridiculous, to go out with things like this. Before 2009, this was not an issue. And to start referring to Olympic and World Championship medals, it irritates me. I mean, in the Olympics, it's not the IAAF holding doping samples, it's the IOC. We get notified of positive samples we act, of course.