FASTER, HIGHER CLEANER GAMES

A state sponsored doping scandal involving Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi and 2016 Rio Games cast a shadow on the Olympics. Testing for banned substances has increased over the years.

Every Olympic athlete takes an oath not to cheat in the Games, but year after year athletes from archers to wrestlers get caught. But it’s not just a few athletes looking for an edge, it can be whole nations looking to bag loads of medals.

The World Anti-doping Agency was established in 1999 after huge scandals shook the cycling world. The agency was brought in to test athletes in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has increased its testing capacity nearly every year over the last 20 years.

In 2016, a Chinese swimmer, a Polish weightlifter and a Bulgarian steeplechaser were expelled from the Olympics for doping in the first few days. In 2021, U.S. sprinter Sha’cari Richardson was banned from the games after testing positive for THC. She was suspended for 30 days. The list of banned substances is presented in January of each year, and two years ago CBD was cleared while THC is still banned.

We may not know the real medal counts for countries until long after the Games and all the lab test results are in. It took WADA and the International Olympic Committee several years to strip Russian athletes of their medals after the 2014 cheating scandal.

• The square shape of the logo background represents the customs and the rules that define sport. The color black evokes neutrality and is the traditional color of the referee.

• The equal sign expresses equity and fairness. The color green evokes health and nature and the field of play.

• The agency’s motto is “play true,” which is intended as a guiding principle for all athletes at every level of competition.

World Anti-doping Agency logo