The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2022 / Mar / Not So Fast…
Forensics

Not So Fast…

Since 1968, 142 summer Olympic Games medal results have been impacted by doping violations, with 74 percent of those identified retrospectively. We break down the key stats.

By James Strachan 03/16/2022 1 min read

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“Long-term sample storage and re-analysis with improved technologies has caught more doping medalists than the testing technology available at the time of sample collection.”

“The disproportionate representation of athletes from certain sports and nations charged with ADRVs from the IOC re-testing of the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games suggests that future levels of pre-Olympic OOC testing should increase in these areas.”

“We encourage more International Federations to further their investment in long-term sample storage at Continental Games and other important international competitions to enhance future doping detection and to deliver sporting justice.”

“We also advocate for long-term sample storage to additionally incorporate the specific requirements of novel testing technologies/matrices even if at the time of collection these methodologies are not fully validated for doping detection.”

References

  1. A Kolliari-Turner et al., “Analysis of Anti-Doping Rule Violations That Have Impacted Medal Results at the Summer Olympic Games 1968–2012”, Sports Med, 51, 2221-2229 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01463-4

About the Author(s)

James Strachan

Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at. From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.

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