Ahead of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic
Winter Games, in its official report the Independent Observer Team has praised
the work of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Anti-Doping team at
the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which took place in August and September 2021.
In particular, the IO Team commended
the IPC for its “strong commitment to clean sport, as well as for the high
standards of its anti-doping policies and procedures”. The report includes 20
recommendations for the IPC to address.
The Independent Observer (IO)
programme was established by WADA in 2000 with the aim to contribute to
effective doping control programmes during major sporting events and to enhance
athlete and public confidence in the quality, effectiveness and reliability of
the anti-doping programme in place.
The IO team consists of experts
appointed by WADA. It is responsible for observing all different aspects of the
doping control process, reviewing relevant documents, contributing to the
overall implementation, and providing daily feedback to the IPC and local
Organising Committee.
The IPC’s Anti-Doping department was
formed in 2018 and Tokyo 2020 was the first time that the IPC had managed its
own anti-doping programme at a Paralympic Games.
In acknowledging the IO Team report,
IPC Anti-Doping Director James Sclater said: “This report is an affirmation of
the work our small team has done to improve anti-doping procedures over the
last few years. A huge amount of effort went into Tokyo 2020, not least because
of the challenges presented to us because of the global pandemic and the
postponement of the Games for a year.
“In terms of testing numbers, the
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were our biggest ever anti-doping programme. Its
success was due in no small part to the staff and volunteers of the Tokyo 2020
Doping Control team, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency, the Japan Sport Council, the
IPC Medical Committee, and the assistance of volunteer experts from anti-doping
organisations from around the world.”
Among the commendations from the IO
Team were how:
·The IPC prepared a “dynamic” Test
Distribution Plan based on the thorough evaluation of each of the 22 sports.
·A record 2,174 samples were
collected – 1,122 out of competition and 1,052 in-competition. Of note was how
the IPC took a “dynamic approach towards in-competition selections”.
·The athletes’ rights and
responsibilities for doping control, based on the Athletes’ Anti-Doping Rights
Act, were available in nine different languages.
·The IPC compiled and published an
“excellent” complement to the existing Doping Control Guidelines called The
Doping Control Guide for Testing Athletes in Para Sport. This guide was seen as
comprehensively providing information about the types of impairments that were
eligible within Para sport and tips on how to engage with athletes with a
disability.
·The IPC, in collaboration with WADA,
launched an anti-doping e-learning course on WADA’s Anti-Doping Education and
Learning platform (ADEL), specifically made for athletes, coaches and other
support personnel participating the Paralympic Games. The course was offered in
nine languages and completed by 2,153 individuals.
·The IO found good awareness of
anti-doping processes in its interactions with athletes and their support
personnel.
·In intelligence gathering, the IPC
collected information from various authoritative sources and promoted the
possibility to report information confidentially through WADA’s Speak Up!
whistleblowing platform.
·The “very successful” implementation
of the sample collection programme by the Tokyo 2020 Doping Control Team and
the IPC.
·The high standard of preparations at
the venues and knowledge of the anti-doping staff at the Tokyo Organising
Committee, and the “excellent” quality of performance by the Doping Control
Officers.
·The work the IPC did with other
Paralympic International Federations in preparing for the Games.
Sclater added: “We are very happy
with findings of the IO Team, and we will work on the recommendations to
improve our Games even further in future. We note that there were no serious
concerns and that the recommendations made were to make improvements to the
programme.
“There were many pleasing aspects for
us. We were particularly pleased with the engagement from athletes and coaches
in the anti-doping e-learning course on WADA’s Anti-Doping Education and
Learning platform, where over 2,100 completed the course. The reception was so good
for that that we did a similar e-learning course for Beijing.”
What does the IPC’s anti-doping
programme for Beijing 2022 look like?
Athletes in all sports can be
selected for doping control anytime and anywhere during the period of the
Paralympic Games. Practically, what will
this look like?
·Approximately 756 doping control
samples, including both blood and urine, will be taken. This is a 12% increase of the 677 samples
collected during PyeongChang 2018.
.There will be testing anytime,
anywhere throughout the period of the Paralympic Games, testing has already
started from the opening of the Paralympic Villages on 25 February through to
the Closing Ceremony on 13 March 2022.
·The test planning incorporated
anti-doping intelligence and will focus on targeting specific high-risk groups
of athletes
·A WADA-accredited Doping Control
Laboratory in Beijing will analyse all blood and urine samples.
·All the samples collected in Beijing
will be kept by the IPC at their new storage facility for 10 years.
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