The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce its planned Independent Observer (IO) program for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which will run from 23 July to 8 August, and from 24 August to 5 September 2021, respectively.
WADA’s IO program, which complements WADA’s compliance monitoring of Major Events Organizations, is intended to provide oversight and instill confidence in both athletes and the public as to the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of anti-doping programs during major events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games and other international, multisport events.
WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said: "Since it was launched at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, WADA’s Independent Observer program has provided important oversight of anti-doping programs at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and other major international sporting events. Working in collaboration with event organizers, the impartial and multi-skilled Independent Observer teams have helped to strengthen anti-doping delivery for more than 50 major events. Whether in real-time during the events or via the reports that are delivered afterwards, thanks to this program, important improvements have been made to how anti-doping is delivered during major events – all aimed at providing robust protections for athletes."
For the Tokyo Games, the teams will once again be composed of international experts across the full range of anti-doping disciplines – a mix of WADA and other Anti-Doping Organizations’ specialists – and will observe all aspects of the programs, including:
Test distribution planning;
Selection of competitors for testing;
Notification of doping control;
Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) procedures;
Chain of custody; and
Sample analysis and results management.
The teams, outlined below, will provide daily feedback as to possible improvements that could be made to the program, which is being operated by the International Testing Agency (ITA), on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), respectively. The IO teams will then issue post-Games reports that will formalize recommendations for the IOC, the IPC, the WADA-accredited laboratory in Tokyo, the organizing committees, and WADA – all designed to enhance anti-doping activities at future events.
Independent Observer Team – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Dr. Francesca Rossi (Italy), Director of Testing, National Anti-Doping Agency of France (Chair);
George Tsamis (Greece), Senior Manager, Standards and Harmonization, WADA (Vice-Chair);
Dr. Osquel Barroso (Cuba), Senior Deputy Director, Laboratories, WADA;
Gina Gill Herrera (Colombia), Manager, Athlete Biological Passport and TUEs, National Anti-Doping Agency of Colombia;
Kenny Lee (Republic of Korea), Manager, Asia and Oceania Office, WADA;
Greg McKenna (UK), Head of Biathlon Integrity Unit, International Biathlon Union;
Aya Nakitanda (Uganda), Medical Doctor and President, National Anti-Doping Agency of Uganda (former athlete); and
Marissa Sunio (USA), Senior Manager, Legal Affairs, WADA.
Independent Observer Team – Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
Jenny Schulze (Sweden), Manager, Testing and Science, National Anti-Doping Agency of Sweden (Chair);
Ieva Lukosiute-Stanikuniene (Lithuania), Senior Manager, NADO/RADO Relations and Development, WADA (Vice-Chair);
Thomas Delaye-Fortin (Canada), Head of Legal and Governance; Badminton World Federation;
Yoko Dozono (Japan), Medical Consultant (TUEs), WADA; and
Jeongmin Lee (Republic of Korea), Member, Asian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council (former athlete).
WADA’s Outreach Program, which has been a long-standing fixture during the Games to raise anti-doping awareness among athletes and others, will not be present in Tokyo in its usual format due to the COVID-19 restrictions. While these important face-to-face interactions will not be possible on this occasion, the program is still planning static imagery and other ways to promote clean sport inside the Athlete Village and will distribute Play True promotional items to athletes being tested in the Village.
Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
