On Thursday, the IAAF released a statement that every athlete participating in the upcoming World Championships will have his or her blood tested. (http://www.iaaf.org/news/newsid=61097.html). All 2,000 plus athletes competing in Daegu, South Korea will be tested and the samples analyzed. The blood testing will be done in addition to urine testing, which will be conducted for medalists and other randomly selected athletes during the championships.
One of the objectives of the program will be to develop an “Athlete Biological Passport” for each individual. The biological passport establishes a record for each athlete over time; measuring biomarkers, which can help determine the results of an athlete’s use of performance enhancing drugs when the presence of the drugs is absent in urine and blood. Additionally, an abnormal profile compared to past blood tests can lead to a suspension. The UCI (governing body for cycling) has suspended eight cyclists from the results of a biological passport, or used the passport to target an individual for further testing.
It appears to be a huge step forward for the IAAF in the constant race to catch the cheaters. I am strongly in favor of using blood to help catch athletes using PED’s and hope that the IAAF and IOC will use blood samples to catch cheaters well after the fact, when the time comes that a suitable test can be devised.
With this announcement coming just 16 days before the opening of the World Championships, the track & field community will be watching with great anticipation to see which athletes withdraw from the Worlds citing illness or injury. Some athletes, such as American 110 hurdler David Oliver have been vocal in support of the blood testing. The one potential drawback, with the announcement so close to the start of the Worlds, the main story leading up to Daegu will once again be performance enhancing drugs, especially with the recent story concerning a possible positive test by Jamaican sprinter Steve Mullings, a member of the gold medal winning 4x100 meter relay squad at the 2009 Worlds in Berlin.
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