Doping on the rise, but WADA lacks resources to probe

MONTREAL:Doping cases in international sport rose 13% in 2017 against the year before, the annual report of the World AntiDoping Agency said. The Montreal-based agency reported 1,804 anti-doping violations for 2017, a rise from 1,595 in 2016. In 2015, however, the number of cases were a lot higher at 1,929.

The 2017 report said the cases involved people from 114 nationalities, across 93 sports. Italy had the largest number of infractions, at 171, followed by France at 128 and the United States with 103. Brazil had 84 and Russia were fifth with 82, said the report. China, India, Belgium, Spain and South Africa completed the list of top 10 nations with violation.

Bodybuilding had the most violations, 266, followed by athletics which had 242 and cycling, with 218. Football and rugby were in sixth and eighth place, the report said. Most of the 2017 violations, 1,459, were detected through “positive” testing results. The remainder came from investigation and intelligence, without detection of prohibited substances, WADA said.

“While in- and out-of-competition testing remains critical to detect doping, events have recently shown that investigative work is becoming even more important as we look to protect clean athletes’ rights worldwide,” WADA’s director general Olivier Niggli said in a statement.

Drug tests aren’t the only tool at WADA’s disposal. Investigations of athletes and coaches are increasingly important, with 345 violations found in 2017, the highest number on record and a 28% rise compared to the year before. However, WADA’s own investigations unit is struggling to cope with an “acute” lack of resources.

The audit said investigating a vast archive of Russian doping data—which WADA later found had been doctored —put strain on the unit.

Relegating other investigations to “secondary importance” risks that “the department (and through it, WADA) could be criticized for choosing and executing on its objectives arbitrarily,” the audit said.

“For credibility, it is essential to process all sources of information. That is not currently possible,” the report said, adding that some personnel risked burnout.