Andy Salmon has been announced as the new Chief Executive of British Triathlon, to take the sport forward to Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
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Salmon will take strategic lead of the National Governing Body in mid-November and will guide the sport through the Olympic and Paralympic cycle. His role will also embrace executive responsibility for Triathlon England and fulfilment of its objectives of building participation, supporting and increasing membership.
The former Welsh Schools Golfer will bring with him a wealth of leadership experience, having held the position of Deputy CEO and Development Director of Scottish Golf for 9 years prior to leaving the organisation in late 2016. Salmon is currently interim CEO of Scottish Snowsport and Chairman of Triathlon Scotland. Having been involved with a number of sports, Salmon’s broad perspective of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector will be invaluable to British Triathlon.
Salmon said: “I am hugely excited to be joining the team at British Triathlon and Triathlon England. There is so much to be positive about in triathlon and I look forward to building on the tremendous progress made by Jack Buckner and the team as we strive to deliver the 2024 vision.”
Ian Howard, President of British Triathlon, said: “We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Andy Salmon as the new Chief Executive of British Triathlon. We are confident he will drive the organisation towards continued success over the coming years.
“We thank Jack for his contribution to British Triathlon over the past three years, and wish him well in his new role as Chief Executive of British Swimming”.
Current British Triathlon Chief Executive, Jack Buckner said: “Over the past three years, I have witnessed many great successes within triathlon. Grassroots participation figures have increased enormously and we achieved 7 medals during Rio 2016, including the first ever paratriathlon gold.”
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“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Andy in his current role at Triathlon Scotland and believe he will continue to build on our success at every level of the sport.”
Immortal Sport have announced they are to take over organising the Wimbleball middle distance triathlon in Somerset, following the news earlier this year that Ironman were to drop the famous toughie, IM UK 70.3, from their 2018 schedule.
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This race has been an iconic fixture in the British tri scene since 2006 and is a race we named 8th toughest 70.3 in the world.
IM UK 70.3 was the first official 113km Ironman race in the world and first ran in 2001 in North Wales before moving to Somerset in 2006. Since that day, the event has seen over 20,000 athletes tackle the challenging course famed for its chilly 1.9km lake swim, hilly 90km bike and rolling 21.1km mixed-terrain run route.
The new Wimbleball Immortal Weekend will cater not just for triathletes but their families by offering Tristars junior triathlons as well as entertainment for the family and onsite camping.
The event will also be hosting mixed team relays. To be introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Immortal Sport are one of only a handful of organisers offering the chance to try this fast-paced, spectator friendly format.
Ironman 70.3 UK Exmoor race tips
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Entries are now open for the 2018 race. Find out more here
Immortal Sport have announced they are to take over organising the Wimbleball middle distance triathlon in Somerset, following the news earlier this year that Ironman were to drop the famous toughie, IM UK 70.3, from their 2018 schedule.
Advertisement
This race has been an iconic fixture in the British tri scene since 2006 and is a race we named 8th toughest 70.3 in the world.
IM UK 70.3 was the first official 113km Ironman race in the world and first ran in 2001 in North Wales before moving to Somerset in 2006. Since that day, the event has seen over 20,000 athletes tackle the challenging course famed for its chilly 1.9km lake swim, hilly 90km bike and rolling 21.1km mixed-terrain run route.
The new Wimbleball Immortal Weekend will cater not just for triathletes but their families by offering Tristars junior triathlons as well as entertainment for the family and onsite camping.
The event will also be hosting mixed team relays. To be introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Immortal Sport are one of only a handful of organisers offering the chance to try this fast-paced, spectator friendly format.
Ironman 70.3 UK Exmoor race tips
Advertisement
Entries are now open for the 2018 race. Find out more here
Flora Duffy will be taking maximum points into the Grand Final in Rotterdam on 16 September, following her fifth win of the season in Stockholm (athletes are allowed to take their top four results into the final round). The reigning champ has been the one to beat since she rocked up to start her title campaign in Yokohama; Ashleigh Gentle the only one to do it in Montreal where Duffy finished second.
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The Olympic-distance race started with a two-lap 1.5km swim, split into 1,000m and 500m in a bid to string the group out and avoid the traffic jam that inevitably builds up at turn buoys.
GB’s Jodie Stimpson was back in the WTS mix, her first race since the Gold Coast in April due to injury. But it was teammate Jess Learmonth and Lucy Hall who led Duffy out of the water in front of City Hall. Stimpson had a great swim to exit in sixth but a false start meant an ITU official was waiting for her in transition. The punishment – a 15sec stop-go in the worst place possible, an agonising wait while the majority of the field collected their bikes and wheeled out onto the 10-lap 40km bike course. Completed, the Commonwealth gold medallist was tasked with a 32sec deficit at the start of the bike.
Up front, Hall was quickly dropped by the threatening threesome of Duffy, Learmonth and the USA’s Katie Zaferes, who pulled out a 30sec lead by the start of lap two to the chase group. The deficit to Stimpson’s group was almost a minute.
Midway through the 10-lap course and Zaferes came a cropper on one of Stockholm’s many cobbled corners, leaving Duffy and Learmonth to stretch the gap to the chasers, including Stimpson, to 2mins by the end of the bike.
Onto the 10km run and it was a one-woman road race, Duffy shooting to the front straight out of T2. By the end of the first lap of four, Learmonth had lost 34secs to the Bermudan.
Montreal WTS winner Gentle was placed ninth starting lap two with a 2:30min deficit to Duffy, but as one of the strongest runners on the course she quickly picked a path through the top 10, moving into third halfway through lap two. Next up the road was the European champ Learmonth, 1:30mins ahead.
After 5km, Learmonth’s gap to Duffy had doubled to just over 1min but she held a solid 1:30min cushion to Gentle. With one lap to go, the gaps were at 1:22 (Learmonth to Duffy) and 2:16 (Gentle to Duffy). Stimpson meanwhile was ticking along nicely in 10th; she would eventually finish in 13th.
At the line, the top three crossed in the order of Duffy, Learmonth (1:21 down) and Gentle (just a further 12secs behind). The only other woman to have won five races in a season is the Rio gold medallist Gwen Jorgensen, who last week celebrated the birth of her first child, Stanley.
“My swim has been a little shaky this year, so it was nice to come out third behind Lucy and Jess,” said Duffy at the finish. “Now it’s all about getting my head in the right place and executing a great race in Rotterdam.”
Learmonth’s result makes her the fifth British female to ever make the WTS podium.
“It’s amazing, I can’t really believe it to be honest,” said Learmonth post-race. “It was hard work but I’m delighted. Flora just corners so fast, so there were some hairy moments. And I knew Gentle was closing the gap, she’s like a gazelle! I never thought I would [podium] so hopefully I’ll get a few more now.”
Gentle’s third position means Duffy has to finish seventh or better to retain her title in Rotterdam in three weeks’ time.
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“I didn’t think I’d be standing here today,” admitted Gentle. “Andrea Hewitt and I were the only two working [on the bike], so I’m really pleased to be here. I’ll be going into Rotterdam trying to do the best I can, so we’ll see what happens there.”
Flora Duffy will be taking maximum points into the Grand Final in Rotterdam on 16 September, following her fifth win of the season in Stockholm (athletes are allowed to take their top four results into the final round). The reigning champ has been the one to beat since she rocked up to start her title campaign in Yokohama; Ashleigh Gentle the only one to do it in Montreal where Duffy finished second.
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The Olympic-distance race started with a two-lap 1.5km swim, split into 1,000m and 500m in a bid to string the group out and avoid the traffic jam that inevitably builds up at turn buoys.
GB’s Jodie Stimpson was back in the WTS mix, her first race since the Gold Coast in April due to injury. But it was teammate Jess Learmonth and Lucy Hall who led Duffy out of the water in front of City Hall. Stimpson had a great swim to exit in sixth but a false start meant an ITU official was waiting for her in transition. The punishment – a 15sec stop-go in the worst place possible, an agonising wait while the majority of the field collected their bikes and wheeled out onto the 10-lap 40km bike course. Completed, the Commonwealth gold medallist was tasked with a 32sec deficit at the start of the bike.
Up front, Hall was quickly dropped by the threatening threesome of Duffy, Learmonth and the USA’s Katie Zaferes, who pulled out a 30sec lead by the start of lap two to the chase group. The deficit to Stimpson’s group was almost a minute.
Midway through the 10-lap course and Zaferes came a cropper on one of Stockholm’s many cobbled corners, leaving Duffy and Learmonth to stretch the gap to the chasers, including Stimpson, to 2mins by the end of the bike.
Onto the 10km run and it was a one-woman road race, Duffy shooting to the front straight out of T2. By the end of the first lap of four, Learmonth had lost 34secs to the Bermudan.
Montreal WTS winner Gentle was placed ninth starting lap two with a 2:30min deficit to Duffy, but as one of the strongest runners on the course she quickly picked a path through the top 10, moving into third halfway through lap two. Next up the road was the European champ Learmonth, 1:30mins ahead.
After 5km, Learmonth’s gap to Duffy had doubled to just over 1min but she held a solid 1:30min cushion to Gentle. With one lap to go, the gaps were at 1:22 (Learmonth to Duffy) and 2:16 (Gentle to Duffy). Stimpson meanwhile was ticking along nicely in 10th; she would eventually finish in 13th.
At the line, the top three crossed in the order of Duffy, Learmonth (1:21 down) and Gentle (just a further 12secs behind). The only other woman to have won five races in a season is the Rio gold medallist Gwen Jorgensen, who last week celebrated the birth of her first child, Stanley.
“My swim has been a little shaky this year, so it was nice to come out third behind Lucy and Jess,” said Duffy at the finish. “Now it’s all about getting my head in the right place and executing a great race in Rotterdam.”
Learmonth’s result makes her the fifth British female to ever make the WTS podium.
“It’s amazing, I can’t really believe it to be honest,” said Learmonth post-race. “It was hard work but I’m delighted. Flora just corners so fast, so there were some hairy moments. And I knew Gentle was closing the gap, she’s like a gazelle! I never thought I would [podium] so hopefully I’ll get a few more now.”
Gentle’s third position means Duffy has to finish seventh or better to retain her title in Rotterdam in three weeks’ time.
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“I didn’t think I’d be standing here today,” admitted Gentle. “Andrea Hewitt and I were the only two working [on the bike], so I’m really pleased to be here. I’ll be going into Rotterdam trying to do the best I can, so we’ll see what happens there.”
Stockholm has proved happy hunting ground for Rio silver medallist, Jonny Brownlee; today’s win his fifth visit to the Swedish podium, including two wins, but this his first over the Olympic distance. His best result of 2017 had been silver behind his brother Alistair in Leeds, but illness had curtailed his title challenge ever since.
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The race started well for the younger Brownlee, following in training partner Richard Varga post-swim for a swift T1 and straight into the lead bike pack of seven athletes. But Varga became the first casualty, dropping back into the large chase pack of 25 men, which held series leader Mario Mola and teammate Fernando Alarza, 36secs back, before withdrawing entirely.
Alarza was the next to call it a day, a mechanical seeing him fall back to 40th before retiring from the race.
Following in Jodie Stimpson’s itchy footsteps from just a few hours earlier, South Africa’s Henri Schoeman received a 15sec stop-go penalty in T1 for an early swim start.
It was largely a group of unknowns in the lead group of six alongside Brownlee, only Aussie Aaron Royle and Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt having mounted a WTS podium. But it was still strong enough to hold off the chasers and build up a cushion of 53secs by the start of the four-lap 10km run.
Jonny, who’s won a WTS race every year since 2011, stretched out a 12sec lead over Royle and Germany’s Justus Nieschlag within the first lap, which climbed to 40secs by the bell lap and allowed him to cruise to his first win of 2017.
“It’s been a tough few months with my body not being right,” said Brownee at the line. “I was waiting for it to start hurting on the run but it only started with about 2km to go. But that how’s I like to race. It’s nice to have a race where the swim, bike and run all counts. I was worried about not winning one this year, but I’ve got one now, I can retire.”
Using his destructive leg speed, Mola had clawed his way back through the pack to challenge the chasers, but he had no answer when Blummenfelt made the first move for a podium position. And in a sprint uphill to the line, the Norwegian managed to pip France’s Pierre Le Corre for silver.
“That was such a hard last lap,” said Blummenfelt post-race, “especially with the sprint up the hill. I didn’t want to do too much work [on the bike to save his run legs], but I also didn’t want to lose too much time to the chasers, so it was a hard balance.”
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GB’s Tom Bishop was the next top Brit across the line, coming in sixth ahead of Mola, who still has four wins, and therefore maximum points, to take into the Grand Final in Rotterdam in three weeks’ time, where he needs to finish fifth or above to retain his title.
Stockholm has proved happy hunting ground for Rio silver medallist, Jonny Brownlee; today’s win his fifth visit to the Swedish podium, including two wins, but this his first over the Olympic distance. His best result of 2017 had been silver behind his brother Alistair in Leeds, but illness had curtailed his title challenge ever since.
The race started well for the younger Brownlee, following in training partner Richard Varga post-swim for a swift T1 and straight into the lead bike pack of seven athletes. But Varga became the first casualty, dropping back into the large chase pack of 25 men, which held series leader Mario Mola and teammate Fernando Alarza, 36secs back, before withdrawing entirely.
Alarza was the next to call it a day, a mechanical seeing him fall back to 40th before retiring from the race.
Following in Jodie Stimpson’s itchy footsteps from just a few hours earlier, South Africa’s Henri Schoeman received a 15sec stop-go penalty in T1 for an early swim start.
It was largely a group of unknowns in the lead group of six alongside Brownlee, only Aussie Aaron Royle and Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt having mounted a WTS podium. But it was still strong enough to hold off the chasers and build up a cushion of 53secs by the start of the four-lap 10km run.
Jonny, who’s won a WTS race every year since 2011, stretched out a 12sec lead over Royle and Germany’s Justus Nieschlag within the first lap, which climbed to 40secs by the bell lap and allowed him to cruise to his first win of 2017.
“It’s been a tough few months with my body not being right,” said Brownee at the line. “I was waiting for it to start hurting on the run but it only started with about 2km to go. But that how’s I like to race. It’s nice to have a race where the swim, bike and run all counts. I was worried about not winning one this year, but I’ve got one now, I can retire.”
Using his destructive leg speed, Mola had clawed his way back through the pack to challenge the chasers, but he had no answer when Blummenfelt made the first move for a podium position. And in a sprint uphill to the line, the Norwegian managed to pip France’s Pierre Le Corre for silver.
“That was such a hard last lap,” said Blummenfelt post-race, “especially with the sprint up the hill. I didn’t want to do too much work [on the bike to save his run legs], but I also didn’t want to lose too much time to the chasers, so it was a hard balance.”
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GB’s Tom Bishop was the next top Brit across the line, coming in sixth ahead of Mola, who still has four wins, and therefore maximum points, to take into the Grand Final in Rotterdam in three weeks’ time, where he needs to finish fifth or above to retain his title.
Jonny Brownlee might have smashed it for Team GB at the World Triathlon Series Stockholm yesterday, but next week sees a multisport race of a very different kind in Sweden as 300 athletes line up to take on the epic ÖtillÖ World Championship.
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The original race of the fast-growing sport of swimrun, the event is in its 12th official year and on 4th September sees the athletes race in teams of two across 26 islands of the Stockholm archipelego. They take in tough forest trails, navigate rocky unmarked sections and battle with strong currents. In total, the course takes in 75km of beautiful yet challenging terrain with 65km of running and 10km of swimming in the Baltic Sea.
New records?
Suspense is growing ahead of the race too as last year saw records tumble as the winning men’s team, Swedish Armed Forces (Daniel Hansson and Lelle Moberg, both of Sweden) smashed the course record by 16 minutes and finished for the first time in under eight hours, coming in in 07:59:04. With Lelle sadly injured this year though, it hasn’t yet been announced who will partner Daniel for the 2017 race.
Winning men’s team, Swedish Armed Forces, on the 2016 course. Image: Nadja Odenhage
In the mixed race, last year’s world champs Eva Nyström (SWE) and Adriel Young (AUS) are back to defend their titles. Both from a very strong triathlon and adventure-racing background, they competed together for the first time in 2016 and smashed the course record by 5 minutes, despite Eva having had her first baby only four months previously! They’ll have strong competition though, as 2015 champs Staffan Björklund (SWE) and Marika Wagner (SWE) line up as well.
In the women’s race, Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson (both SWE) put in amazing performances in 2016, breaking the women’s course record by almost an hour to finish in 09:32:03. They’re back together as Team Addnature/Campz this year and are hoping for another world-beating performance.
We spoke to Annika earlier this week: “We haven’t changed much since last year but I think we both are stronger and have improved our weaknesses,” she said. “This year we have really done the races we have wanted and not done too many. This I think makes us stronger because we are not tired yet of the season. We will try and go faster than last year, but it all depends on the weather conditions etc of course!”
Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson during the 2016 race. Image: Nadja Odenhage
Brits looking strong
Being able to train in the Swedish terrain has huge advantages (hence the mostly Swedish podiums!), however as swimrun gains popularity through the World Series races and other ÖtillÖ merit races pop up around the globe, there’s more chance to race than before, which sees international teams gaining in experience.
From GB this year, we’ll see 20 athletes on the start line. We’re expecting strong performances from Andrew Maclean, who lives and trains in Stockholm and races this year with new partner Johanna Wallenstein (SWE) in the mixed class as Team Wolff Wear Swimrun.
“We have trained together a few times this year and did one smaller race together, where we came first,” Andrew told us. “My main goal is time-based like last year when I wanted to go sub 10hrs and Helen Maalinn, (EST) and I did 09:50 so goal accomplished! This year my time goal is 09:30 or under. And hopefully a top 10 spot – although how that goes is hard to predict as there are so many fast semi-pro mixed teams this year!”
In the women’s class, Isobel Joiner and Rosemary Byde are back after qualifying with a strong performance at ÖtillÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes in Germany. Rosemary told us: “Last year when we raced, we wanted to go an hour faster than the year before and we did just that – by racing smarter and knowing when to keep concentrated, when to come off the tow, what kind of shoes to wear etc. This year we want to go faster again, but there are not such easy gains and the weather can play a big part!”
Watch the race live
The ÖtillÖ World Championship race is on Monday 4th September and coverage starts at 4:45am British time. 220 Triathlon Editor Helen Webster will be in Sweden and presenting as part of the live webcast team.
Watch it live here and follow all the action through social media by using the hashtag #otillo. Find out more about the race series by visiting www.otilloswimrun.com.
Find out more!
Interested in trying swimrun for the first time? Read our guide here: What Is Swimrun?
Want to find out more about kit for swimrun? Read our Essential Guide to Swimrun Kit
Advertisement
Wondering how to train for your first swimrun race? Here’s our expert swimrun training plan
Jonny Brownlee might have smashed it for Team GB at the World Triathlon Series Stockholm yesterday, but next week sees a multisport race of a very different kind in Sweden as 300 athletes line up to take on the epic ÖtillÖ World Championship.
Advertisement
The original race of the fast-growing sport of swimrun, the event is in its 12th official year and on 4th September sees the athletes race in teams of two across 26 islands of the Stockholm archipelego. They take in tough forest trails, navigate rocky unmarked sections and battle with strong currents. In total, the course takes in 75km of beautiful yet challenging terrain with 65km of running and 10km of swimming in the Baltic Sea.
New records?
Suspense is growing ahead of the race too as last year saw records tumble as the winning men’s team, Swedish Armed Forces (Daniel Hansson and Lelle Moberg, both of Sweden) smashed the course record by 16 minutes and finished for the first time in under eight hours, coming in in 07:59:04. With Lelle sadly injured this year though, it hasn’t yet been announced who will partner Daniel for the 2017 race.
Winning men’s team, Swedish Armed Forces, on the 2016 course. Image: Nadja Odenhage
In the mixed race, last year’s world champs Eva Nyström (SWE) and Adriel Young (AUS) are back to defend their titles. Both from a very strong triathlon and adventure-racing background, they competed together for the first time in 2016 and smashed the course record by 5 minutes, despite Eva having had her first baby only four months previously! They’ll have strong competition though, as 2015 champs Staffan Björklund (SWE) and Marika Wagner (SWE) line up as well.
In the women’s race, Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson (both SWE) put in amazing performances in 2016, breaking the women’s course record by almost an hour to finish in 09:32:03. They’re back together as Team Addnature/Campz this year and are hoping for another world-beating performance.
We spoke to Annika earlier this week: “We haven’t changed much since last year but I think we both are stronger and have improved our weaknesses,” she said. “This year we have really done the races we have wanted and not done too many. This I think makes us stronger because we are not tired yet of the season. We will try and go faster than last year, but it all depends on the weather conditions etc of course!”
Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson during the 2016 race. Image: Nadja Odenhage
Brits looking strong
Being able to train in the Swedish terrain has huge advantages (hence the mostly Swedish podiums!), however as swimrun gains popularity through the World Series races and other ÖtillÖ merit races pop up around the globe, there’s more chance to race than before, which sees international teams gaining in experience.
From GB this year, we’ll see 20 athletes on the start line. We’re expecting strong performances from Andrew Maclean, who lives and trains in Stockholm and races this year with new partner Johanna Wallenstein (SWE) in the mixed class as Team Wolff Wear Swimrun.
“We have trained together a few times this year and did one smaller race together, where we came first,” Andrew told us. “My main goal is time-based like last year when I wanted to go sub 10hrs and Helen Maalinn, (EST) and I did 09:50 so goal accomplished! This year my time goal is 09:30 or under. And hopefully a top 10 spot – although how that goes is hard to predict as there are so many fast semi-pro mixed teams this year!”
In the women’s class, Isobel Joiner and Rosemary Byde are back after qualifying with a strong performance at ÖtillÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes in Germany. Rosemary told us: “Last year when we raced, we wanted to go an hour faster than the year before and we did just that – by racing smarter and knowing when to keep concentrated, when to come off the tow, what kind of shoes to wear etc. This year we want to go faster again, but there are not such easy gains and the weather can play a big part!”
Watch the race live
The ÖtillÖ World Championship race is on Monday 4th September and coverage starts at 4:45am British time. 220 Triathlon Editor Helen Webster will be in Sweden and presenting as part of the live webcast team.
Watch it live here and follow all the action through social media by using the hashtag #otillo. Find out more about the race series by visiting www.otilloswimrun.com.
Find out more!
Interested in trying swimrun for the first time? Read our guide here: What Is Swimrun?
Want to find out more about kit for swimrun? Read our Essential Guide to Swimrun Kit
Advertisement
Wondering how to train for your first swimrun race? Here’s our expert swimrun training plan
Doping is far more common in professional sport than the rates suggested by blood and urine tests of the athletes, scientists have found.
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The study found that at least 30% of athletes in the 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships and 45% of athletes at the Pan-Arab Games in 2011 claimed to have taken doping drugs or used other doping methods.
Only a fraction of these cases were detected by biological tests: at the World Championships, 0.5% of biological tests showed positive for doping agents, and 3.6% for the Pan-Arab games.
The scientists used a “randomised response method” to question a total of 2,167 participants at the World Championships in Daegu (South Korea) and the Pan-Arab Games in Doha (Qatar), asking whether they had taken doping drugs or used other banned doping methods before the competitions. This method ensured the anonymity of the respondents and allowed them to answer honestly without fearing negative consequences.
“The randomised response method is used for sensitive topics. In a direct face-to face interview, respondents would be strongly motivated to provide socially desirable responses, even if these responses were not true. Anonymity gives protection, allowing the respondents to answer honestly,” explains Ulrich, head of the Cognition and Perception Research Group at the Department of Psychology at the University of Tübingen.
In the study, six interviewers, who collectively spoke ten languages, attended the competitions and personally asked 2,320 athletes to participate. More than 90 percent agreed. The athletes were asked on a mobile device to answer one of two questions — an unobtrusive question about a birthdate or a sensitive question about whether they had engaged in banned doping in the past 12 months. The two questions were selected at random. Therefore, if an athlete answered “yes,” the investigators could not tell whether the athlete was answering “yes” to the unobtrusive question or “yes” to the sensitive question — thus guaranteeing the athlete’s anonymity.
However, even though the investigators could not ascertain which of the two questions had been answered by any individual athlete, they could use statistical methods to closely estimate the percentage of athletes in the overall study group who had answered yes to the doping question. The investigators also took into account different scenarios that might have caused incorrect responses. For example, the fastest responses were not included because the respondents might not have read the text thoroughly.
“Overall, this study suggests that biological tests of blood and urine greatly underestimate the true prevalence of doping,” emphasises Pope, who is also a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “As we note in the paper, this is probably due to the fact that athletes have found various ways to beat the tests.”
Tests immediately before and during a competition find evidence of doping on average of only 1-3%. However, doping agents are often no longer biologically detectable at this time if they have been taken long before. Somewhat better results are achieved with the “biological passport,” which tracks the athlete’s medical data and offers a higher detection rate of about 14%. The passport employs long-term documentation which can reveal deviations that could be caused by the abuse of doping agents. Doping agents are defined as all items listed by the WADA on the “List of Prohibited Substances and Methods.”
“The study brings opportunities for a constructive debate regarding new strategies for combating doping. The randomised response method is a good way to make informed statements about the actual spread of doping,” says Professor Rolf Ulrich from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany
Harrison G. Pope, Jr, MD, MPH, director, Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and Professor Rolf Ulrich from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany, together with an international group of seven other authors, conducted the study on behalf of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in 2011. The results of the study, “Doping in Two Elite Athletics Competitions Assessed by Randomized-Response Surveys” have now been published in the journal Sports Medicine. The publication also includes detailed statistical analyses in the appendix which underline the significance of the findings.
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