DOPING SAMPLES FROM SALT LAKE CITY ANALYZED IN MOSCOW

Moscow, Elizavetinsky proezd, 10. At this address is located one of the most mysterious sports institutions - the Anti-Doping Center of Russia, the only laboratory in our country that has received accreditation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The center is headed by Professor Vitaly Semenov. SE correspondents went to him to ask questions that interested our readers.

HOW DID IT ALL START?

Thanks to Professor Semenov: he immediately agreed to become our guide and show us the storage facilities and laboratory rooms of his center.

But first of all, Semenov gave a short lecture.

It all started in 1967,” he said. - It was then that a medical commission was created under the International Olympic Committee, which, in particular, was called upon to wage the war against doping. This commission was headed by IOC member Prince Alexandre de Merode from Belgium.

At that time, there were only two groups of drugs prohibited for use by athletes - psychostimulants and narcotic substances. The commission immediately attracted particular attention to track and field athletes and cyclists. And the first to undergo serious testing were the participants of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The development of medical science forced the IOC anti-doping commission to include a group of anabolic steroids in the list of prohibited drugs. This happened just before Montreal '76.

By the way, the history of the appearance of anabolic steroids in sports is very interesting - and instructive. Steroids were given to patients (among whom were athletes) in the postoperative period - to quickly restore strength and quickly gain muscle mass within 2 - 3 weeks. But they gave it, which is very important, in therapeutic doses. Unfortunately, this technique then migrated from medicine to sports. And the line was overcome that, as Paracelsus used to say, separates medicine from poison.

Also in 1976, the first cases of anabolic steroid use at the Olympics were recorded - 12 athletes, mostly weightlifters, were caught using nandrolone and methandrostenalone. It was a shock for everyone: no one suspected how seriously this disease had affected the sport.

True, it was still a long way off before the emergence of WADA (it, as is known, arose in the wake of the scandalous Tour de France '98, when almost half the peloton was disqualified after doping control).

The 1976 Olympics became a turning point in the protracted and endless war against doping, Professor Semenov emphasized. And then the Hewlett Packard company developed the first doping detection and identification systems, which were adopted by the IOC laboratories.

HOW ARE DOPING TESTS TAKEN?

As for the Moscow laboratory, it was created a little later - in 1971. And it received accreditation from the IOC (and, accordingly, the right to conduct analyzes of samples taken at major world competitions, including the Olympic Games) on July 7, 1980. And even then, computers came to the aid of anti-doping service employees.

True, the machines of that time resembled huge cabinet-like monsters with a gigantic database. Two years before the Moscow Olympics, all the necessary equipment was purchased directly from Hewlett Packard. And in the time remaining before the Games, the laboratory workers mastered the equipment and methods. At the same time, the volunteers who took the tests were employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under whose leadership the laboratory was equipped.

And even then, regulations for taking tests from athletes were developed. A requirement for strict control over the samples taken was immediately introduced. Moreover, urine or blood is taken for analysis only in the presence of witnesses - doctors and representatives of the athlete. Containers are immediately sealed. Sample "B" is stored at a temperature no higher than -20 degrees, while sample "A" is immediately sent to the laboratory.

If the “A” sample gives a positive result, the commission sets a deadline for a control analysis. As a rule, 15 to 20 days after the results of the first analysis are announced.

Anti-doping services achieved today's precise work through trial and error.

After the ’76 Olympics,” Professor Semenov continued, “when the “A” doping tests of 12 athletes gave positive results, it was decided to turn to control samples, which were stored in refrigerators at a temperature of -20. And then an incident occurred. Before Montreal, all sample jars, sealed with lead seals, were stored in freezers. But the organizers of the 76 Games apparently considered it wasteful to use such an amount of lead and, as an experiment, sealed these jars with plastic seals, assigning each a code number.

And when, in the presence of representatives of countries whose athletes were accused of using prohibited drugs (and they certainly endorse the inviolability of containers with sample “B”), the freezers were opened, it turned out that the plastic seals could not withstand the low temperature and cracked. Of course, there were protests from athletes and their representatives. I had to reseal the jars, put them back in the freezer for 3 weeks, and then re-open them. Thank God, we managed to convince all interested parties that it was not the doctors’ fault that the seals were broken.

An important detail: today, any - even the smallest - violation of the regulations for taking samples or storing containers with blood or urine can lead to the invalidation of all results of the laboratory’s work.

According to Semenov, the main thing that disappeared from the work of anti-doping services along with the de Merode era was the presumption of innocence of an athlete whose sample tested positive for a prohibited substance. Then decisions were made only after hearing explanations from the athlete himself, his coach and doctor. And today WADA often replaces the IOC medical commission, taking over its functions.

WHO HAS ACCESS TO SAMPLES?

It turns out that only two people from the laboratory’s impressive staff have access to the doping sample storage area. Only Vitaly Alexandrovich himself and his assistant, who processes the samples delivered to the laboratory, have the keys to this holy of holies center. However, the director of the center opened a secret door to the SE correspondent.

Containers come to us from all over the world - sealed and with code numbers,” Semenov said. - None of the laboratory workers where the analysis will be carried out is present when samples are taken. This is done in order to ensure complete anonymity in work. So none of us knows whose sample he is currently analyzing. My assistant records all receipts in a special journal and makes sure to recode each container. You see in this journal a six-digit digital code assigned to the sample jar when the analysis was taken, but this four-digit code is the code assigned to the sample already in our laboratory. In this case, the protocol, which indicates the number and surname of the athlete, is sealed in the presence of witnesses and handed over to the chairman of the IOC medical commission.

The staff of our center, the professor continued, like other laboratories, deal only with recoded samples. Look, the journal notes which of the workers in my laboratory accepted the brought samples, on what date, from which competition, the date and signature of the person who accepted them. In addition to the sample, a protocol is also brought to the laboratory, which notes what the athlete took and for what reason in the last three days, what medications he used if he was sick at that time.

- Who brings samples from competitions?

A courier who also doesn’t know whose samples are in his bag. By the way, the bag is also sealed - and no one except the receiving specialist can open it. From the brought jar of samples, our workers take 5 microliters for the analysis of psychotropic substances, steroids, diuretics, drugs, beta blockers... In a word, the entire range of necessary tests is performed within these walls.

After the “B” sample is analyzed, which confirms the athlete’s purity or, conversely, his guilt, the container is transferred to a special refrigerator, where it is stored for some time until it is written off. Previously, we did not store clean samples at all, but at the end of last year, after the addition of tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) to the list of prohibited substances, WADA issued a circular requiring that even negative doping samples be stored for up to 8 years! Obviously, in anticipation that means of detecting new substances will be developed and retrospective analysis will have to be carried out. Can you imagine what size refrigerators laboratories will now need?!

- Did the Russian center receive samples from Salt Lake City?

But of course! And recently we received instructions from WADA to double-check them for THG content. As you know, these samples turned out to be clean. By the way, we keep all the jars with tests in these refrigerators. - Professor Semenov pointed to rows of freezing units along the wall. - The numbers glowing on the settings panel indicate the temperature mode. For example, for samples containing darbopoietin, the optimal temperature range is from -36 to -86. At slightly higher temperatures, hydrolysis is possible.

And also about the sensational THG. As Semenov said, this substance was first obtained and clinically studied back in 1963! Moreover, it was even recommended as a contraceptive. Its structure is close to nandrolone, but its properties are different. This resemblance to a criminal steroid is what put THG outlawed.

HOW DO LABORATORIES TAKE EXAMINATIONS?

The center's employees will also serve the Olympic Games in Athens. They received this right on December 24 last year, when a message came from WADA headquarters that the World Anti-Doping Agency had extended the accreditation of the Russian center for another year.

All 29 laboratories accredited by the IOC are certified for professional suitability annually. And passing this exam is not easy. After all, in order to meet the required level, the center’s employees must efficiently and quickly analyze a huge number of samples (according to Professor Semenov, up to 15 thousand per year!) to identify all known prohibited substances. In addition, every quarter WADA sends laboratories from 6 to 8 samples (the so-called professional test), which must be analyzed within 12 days and provide the agency with a complete picture of the “cocktail” contained in the control container.

As you understand, the equipment must be appropriate. And oh, how expensive it is.

Your correspondents were shown the most modern devices that can detect any doping that can be identified today in the blood or urine based on the smallest particles. And all the equipment costs about two million dollars. Since work at the center is continuous, the equipment wears out and ages physically and mentally. According to WADA rules, the laboratory's arsenal must be updated at least once every three years.

HOW IS A DOPING TEST TESTED?

A very insignificant amount - 50 microliters - is taken from a sample jar for each type of analysis and inserted into the receiving device of a special apparatus. After the smart machine analyzes the biochemical composition of urine or blood, it displays a graphical picture of the substances contained in the sample. A Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph will tell you exactly what doping and in what quantity is contained in an athlete’s sample.

As Semenov reported, it is very difficult to identify darbopoietin. Here it takes three days to analyze the sample.

WHO SECURES THE SAMPLES?

In the hands of Professor Semenov and his colleagues is the fate of medals of all possible ranks, thousands and even millions of prize money. It was logical to ask how such an important facility is protected. It turns out that until 1992 the laboratory was guarded by a double police post. And today the police are on duty only on the first floor of the building, and the entrance to the third floor, where the center is located, and to individual blocks are guarded by reliable electronic locks, which can only be opened by employees who have the right to access a particular area of ​​the laboratory. In addition, the entry and exit times of each employee to particularly important blocks of the center are recorded.

WHO ELSE DOES THE ANTI-DOPING CENTER HELP?

At the end of the excursion, Semenov said that laboratory workers often have to carry out instructions from criminologists.

Our center is always ready to help the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB in cases when their laboratories capitulate to unknown narcotic substances,” the professor boasted. - Already now we can identify negligibly small doses of concentration of any substance. The sensitivity of the center's instruments is amazingly high. Although there are no professional criminologists on the staff of our institution - only doctors, chemists, biochemists and analysts.

But what qualifications!

Rovshan ASKEROV

Let's look at the problem of doping not through the eyes of athletes, but through the eyes of chemists who work in Anti-Doping Centers.

A huge number of anti-doping tests are done around the world, not only during competitions, but also between them. What samples are taken from athletes and what problems do chemists face?

FSUE Anti-Doping Center analyzes about 15,000 urine samples and about 4,000 blood samples per year. Most of the substances on the list of prohibited drugs are determined in urine samples. However, over the past ten years, blood tests have been increasingly taken, since this is the only way to check whether the athlete has had a blood transfusion, as well as determine the hemoglobin level, hematocrit, red blood cell concentration and other parameters that the Athlete’s Biological Passport program assumes.

Growth hormone, some types of erythropoietin and insulins are also determined exclusively in blood serum. Today, some anti-doping laboratories are conducting studies to demonstrate that blood testing can be comprehensive and can determine everything. But since it is still more difficult to collect blood (sampling requires a specialist with a medical education), and many techniques will have to be developed anew, anti-doping control will probably continue to be mainly based on the analysis of urine samples.

Chemists working in the field of doping control have quite a lot of problems. Over the past ten years, the list of prohibited drugs has expanded significantly, new prohibited classes of compounds have appeared, for the determination of which it was necessary to develop and implement analytical methods. It is clear that this requires money and extremely highly qualified laboratory personnel.

In general, the system works as follows:

There are anti-doping laboratories that analyze samples received by them, and there are national and international anti-doping organizations that plan and collect these samples from athletes, both during and outside of competition. So that doping control inspectors can take a sample at any time, international athletes provide information about their whereabouts several months in advance (for every day!). The list of substances prohibited out of competition is almost half as long, but in general doping control occurs almost continuously. The laboratory's analysis results are sent to anti-doping organizations, which draw appropriate conclusions and investigate violations. The laboratory only detects the presence (or absence) of prohibited substances in athletes’ samples and does not provide feedback to athletes.

How is it possible to identify such a large number of diverse substances? And what new methods do chemists offer for this?

It's really not easy. About ten years ago, when the list of prohibited substances was approximately half as long, most anti-doping laboratories followed the practice of having a separate line of analysis for each class of substance. In other words, volatile stimulants, narcotics, anabolic steroids, diuretics, beta blockers, corticosteroids, etc. were separately determined. Due to the large number of assay lines, it was not possible to examine many samples quickly. To “catch” small concentrations of substances, samples had to be concentrated. Most laboratories combined gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. To determine substances in nanoquantities, high-resolution mass spectrometers (magnetic sector analyzers) were used, and this is complex and difficult-to-use equipment.

At some point, the laboratories were simply overwhelmed, as anti-doping services, trying to test as many athletes as possible, sent more and more samples. Today, laboratories use systems that combine high efficiency chromatographic separation (gas and liquid chromatography) and mass spectrometric detection. These are the so-called triple quadrupole mass analyzers. New instruments determine with the highest sensitivity and reliability whether the sample contains the substances of interest to us. Firstly, this allows you to use a smaller sample volume (to the point that it can be diluted several times with water and directly introduced into the device, if we are talking about liquid chromatography), and secondly, it increases the number of compounds determined in one analysis . Thus, thanks to modern equipment, methods have become simpler and more universal, and this has significantly increased the productivity of anti-doping laboratories.

Liquid chromatograph combined with an orbital ion trap mass spectrometer (desktop version, manufacturer THERMO)

At the same time, sample preparation methods were developed. If previously liquid-liquid extraction was mainly used, which is almost impossible to automate, now solid-phase extraction is increasingly used, including an option in which a sorbent with the desired properties is applied to the surface of magnetic microparticles. It is very convenient to manipulate such particles - the suspension is added to the test sample, and the compounds being determined are themselves adsorbed on their surface. The tube is then placed in a magnetic field, which fixes the particles at the bottom, and the remaining sample is poured out. After this, the microparticles are usually washed to remove unwanted components, and the desired compounds are washed off with a small volume of organic solvent - and that's it, the sample is ready for analysis.

Gas chromatograph in combination with a triple quadrupole mass analyzer (THERMO manufacturer)

The sample preparation procedure is not only simple, but can be easily automated. This is a kind of nanotechnology in chemical analysis, and is usually used to search for substances of a peptide nature, such as synthetic analogues of insulin, in urine or blood. Now chemists are finding out whether this method can also be used to extract low-molecular-weight compounds. Unfortunately, the method is quite expensive, so it is not always used in all laboratories.

Time-of-flight mass spectrometer that can be combined with both liquid and gas chromatographs (manufacturer WATERS)

In general, anti-doping control is focused on identifying specified compounds. During the analysis, you will see only those prohibited drugs for which your gas chromatography-mass spectrometer is pre-set, and all other information about the sample is lost. At the same time, the list of prohibited substances in many sections contains the following wording: “... and other substances with a similar structure or properties” or in general “any substances that are at the stage of clinical trials and not approved for official use.” To be able to analyze the sample again for some other substances without repeating sample preparation, you need to use instrumental methods that save all information about the sample. There are such devices: these are time-of-flight mass spectrometers or mass spectrometers operating on the principle of an orbital ion trap. They record all data (not just given data) with high resolution, but working with such devices also has its own difficulties and limitations. Despite their high cost, they have already become part of laboratory practice - for example, we have several orbital ion traps in Moscow (they are called “Orbitrap”).

How quickly is one analysis done? Why is an athlete sometimes disqualified after he has already received a medal?

According to the international standard, 10 working days are allotted for analysis. At major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, this period is 24 hours for samples that show a negative result, 48 hours for samples that require additional testing (i.e. where the screening result shows the presence of a prohibited substance), and 72 hours for complex tests - such as the determination of erythropoietin or the origin of testosterone by isotope mass spectrometry.
However, in recent years, the practice of long-term (up to eight years) storage of samples has emerged so that in the future, as new prohibited drugs and methods for their determination become available, it will be possible to re-analyze them. This was the case, in particular, with samples from the 2008 Olympics: more than a year after the end, they were analyzed for the new generation erythropoietin MIRCERA in the Lausanne anti-doping laboratory, and the result for some athletes was disappointing.

When did they start testing athletes for the use of prohibited drugs? How many are on the list for the Olympics this year?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) published the first list of prohibited drugs in 1963, but testing began only five years later (in 1968) - at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble and the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Actually, the history of anti-doping control began from the moment when it became technically possible to do such analyzes en masse thanks to the active development of chromatography and mass spectrometry methods.

At first, the list of prohibited drugs included only stimulants, narcotic analgesics and anabolic steroids. Over time, other classes of compounds were added - diuretics, beta-blockers, beta2-agonists, drugs with anti-estrogenic activity, peptide hormones, and the number of drugs within each class increased markedly.

Currently, the list of prohibited drugs, which is reviewed once a year, contains about 200 compounds of various natures. It should be noted that a significant part of them (for example, almost all anabolic steroids) are completely metabolized (modified) when they enter the human body, so laboratories often determine not the prohibited drugs themselves, but the products of their transformation in the body. This is a rather difficult task - in order to solve it, you must first study the metabolic process in detail, and then learn to identify the longest-lived metabolites. In fact, modern anti-doping analysis is at the intersection of analytical chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology.

The preparation of the anti-doping laboratory for the Olympic Games begins long before them. After all, by the right time, she should already have all available methods and techniques, including those that have not yet entered into everyday practice.
There don’t seem to be many laboratories in the world officially accredited by the IOC, the results of which are recognized by the IOC. But at the same time, there are probably other laboratories in every country that monitor their athletes and, undoubtedly, can warn them if they detect any prohibited substances.

Nevertheless, scandals do happen. What's the problem? In athletes or in the level of qualifications and degree of equipment of accredited laboratories that determine lower concentrations and a wider range of substances?

Only laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have the right to test athletes. There are currently 33 such laboratories in the world, and in Russia there is only one - FSUE Anti-Doping Center (WADA suspended the activities of the center on November 10, 2015). International sports organizations categorically condemn assisting athletes in the use of prohibited drugs, but there is evidence that in a number of countries there are laboratories that do not operate entirely officially. Of course, they have limited access to new methods for testing prohibited substances. So it’s absolutely true: accredited laboratories can do more and are better equipped, so it’s difficult to deceive them.

However, even these 33 laboratories differ in equipment - it strongly depends on the level of financial support from the state. In addition, it must be taken into account that some laboratories received accreditation only a couple of years ago, while others have existed for thirty years. Therefore, all these laboratories formally comply with WADA requirements, but not all are equally good. In addition, some techniques are mastered by only one or two laboratories in the world. Therefore, doping scandals are still an integral part of modern sports.

If you look at the dynamics, are there more or fewer cases of disqualification of athletes due to doping at each Olympics? What's the trend?

Most likely, we have already passed the maximum. As equipment and chemical analysis techniques improved, more and more cases of violations of the anti-doping code were identified from Olympics to Olympics. It is believed that the apogee was reached in 2004. Now the situation is changing for the better, as well as the consciousness of the athletes, so the organizers of the 2016 Olympics are hoping for “clean” games this year.

However, not everything is so simple with our “Anti-Doping Center”: On November 10, 2015, the Global Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) temporarily stopped the work of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, after which its head, Grigory Rodchenkov, resigned, which was accepted by the Ministry of Sports. According to the WADA commission, Rodchenkov eliminated 1,417 doping samples three days before the test. Later, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that the recertification of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory should be at the end of two thousand fifteen or at the very beginning of two thousand sixteen. The Government of the Russian Federation will reorganize the anti-doping center in Moscow into a federal budgetary institution, the powers of the founder will be exercised by the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. The main goal of the institution’s activities will be anti-doping support for Russian national sports teams.

Let's follow the news.

Source of information: “HiZh” (2012)

Doping control: organization, procedure

In connection with the development of international relations and the expansion of contacts between athletes from different countries, as well as the holding of all-Russian and regional competitions, the problem arises of familiarizing competition participants with the procedure and regulations for doping control.

Doping control is the most important component of a comprehensive program of measures aimed at preventing athletes from using prohibited (doping) substances. The regulations adopted in our country for organizing and conducting the doping control procedure fully comply with the requirements of the IOC Medical Commission. The doping control procedure consists of the following stages: selection of biological samples for analysis, physical and chemical examination of the selected samples and drawing up a conclusion, imposition of sanctions on violators. During competition, the athlete is notified that, according to the rules, he must undergo doping control. The winners who took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, as well as, by decision of the commission, one of the several athletes who did not take prizes (he is selected by lot) undergo mandatory doping control. After the performance, these athletes are sent to the doping control room. Here the athlete himself chooses a container to collect a urine sample for analysis. Then, in the presence of an observer, a urine sample is given (the observer ensures that there is no tampering with the sample). After taking the sample, a number is stuck on the vessel, which is also chosen by the athlete himself. After this, the resulting biological sample is divided into 2 equal parts - samples A and B, which are sealed and assigned a specific code. Thus, the athlete’s name is not mentioned at any of the working stages (to maintain complete anonymity). Copies of the codes are pasted on the doping control report. The samples are then packed into shipping containers and taken to the doping control laboratory. Before signing the doping control report, the athlete must inform the commission of the names of all medications that he took before the competition (as some medications contain prohibited substances in minimal quantities, for example, solutan). After signing the doping control protocol, the athlete can only wait for the test results. According to the doping control regulations, sample A is analyzed, no later than 3 days after taking the biological sample. If prohibited drugs are found in it, sample B is opened and analyzed. When opening sample B, either the athlete himself or his authorized representative can be present. If Prohibited Substances are also detected in Sample B, the Athlete will be subject to appropriate sanctions. If a prohibited drug is not detected in sample B, then the conclusion from the analysis of biosample A is considered unreliable, and no sanctions are applied to the athlete.

An athlete’s refusal to undergo doping control or an attempt to falsify its result is considered as an admission of the fact of doping use with all the ensuing consequences. Falsification of doping control results involves various kinds of manipulations aimed at distorting its results. Athletes can resort to attempts at falsification when they are obviously confident in the positive result of a biological test for doping. In this case, attempts to replace urine are possible (catheterization and introduction into the bladder of foreign urine, obviously free from prohibited drugs, or a liquid simulating urine; the use of microcontainers; deliberate contamination of urine with aromatic compounds that complicate the identification of doping). Prohibited manipulations also include special surgical operations (for example, suturing placental tissue under the skin). The physicochemical methods of analysis of biological urine samples used to determine doping (chromatographic, massoscopic, radioimmunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, etc.) are very sensitive and include computer identification of doping drugs and their derivatives. They allow you to accurately determine all the drugs used by the athlete, including those used over the past weeks and even months. In addition, methods have been developed that define so-called blood doping, i.e. transfusion of an athlete’s own or someone else’s blood before the start. If previously only highly qualified athletes underwent doping control and only during important international and domestic competitions, now such control is carried out not only during the competitive period, but also during training sessions. Moreover, all persons involved in sports are subject to doping testing, regardless of their sports affiliation.

Below is the doping control procedure carried out by both the Russian Anti-Doping Service and international sports organizations (for example, sports federations, the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee). These recommendations are intended primarily for athletes, since the main purpose of doping control is to protect the athlete's right to doping-free sport. However, it is essential that coaches, medical personnel, officials and other athlete representatives also have a thorough understanding of doping control procedures.

1. Selection of athletes for testing

During the year, you may be selected, with or without advance notice, to undergo doping control during competition, at a training camp, in your home, or at any other location. For competitive testing, athletes are most often selected based on the results of the competition or by random sampling (by lot). For out-of-competition testing, the selection of athletes is usually done by lot, although you may also be tested based on specific decisions of anti-doping authorities.

2. Athlete Notification

As a rule, the athlete is personally informed about the upcoming doping control. The DCO or escort will notify you that you will need to provide a urine sample. You will also be informed of the rights and responsibilities you have during the Doping Control procedure, including the right to have one chaperone and the responsibility to remain within the sight of the DCO during the urine test until the urine sample is collected. Once the Anti-Doping Officer is satisfied that you understand your rights and responsibilities, you will be asked to sign a form.

3. Selection of capacity

When you are ready to provide a sample, you will be asked to select a sealed container to collect your urine. The athlete is responsible for ensuring that the sample remains within his field of vision at all times until it is sealed.

4. Providing a urine sample

You will need to provide approximately 100 ml of urine in the presence of an Anti-Doping Officer who must be the same gender as you. In order for the representative to observe the process of donating urine, the body should be exposed from the waist to the middle of the thigh.

5. Doping sample storage kit

The DCO will ask you to select a sealed kit that will be used to store, identify and transport your urine sample. You will be offered several sets to choose from. If you or your representative are not satisfied with the condition of the packaging, you have the right to request a replacement kit.

6. Assigning a sample number

Once you (and your representative) select a kit, you must open it and remove the contents. You and your representative will then be asked to verify that the identification numbers on the bottles and caps and on the shipping box match. The Doping Control Officer will also check that the identification numbers on the samples are the same and will record the sample number on the anti-doping control form.

7. Dividing the sample into samples “A” and “B”, packaging

You will fill Vials "A" and "B" with the prescribed volume of urine and seal each container with a stopper as directed by the DCO. He will then ask you to turn the bottles over to make sure they are not leaking. Your representative must also confirm that the sample is properly sealed.

8. Check pH and specific gravity of urine

The doping control officer checks that the urine sample meets specific standards by measuring the pH level and specific gravity of the urine. If your urine pH or density does not meet the standards, you may be asked to submit a repeat sample.

9. List of substances taken

The DCO will ask you to voluntarily provide a list of medications (prescribed and self-administered), dietary supplements, and any other substances you have used in the past ten days. This information will be entered into the anti-doping control form, which is sent to the laboratory for analysis.

10. Doping control form

After completing the form, you and your representative must ensure that the information entered is complete and accurate. You must then sign the doping control form, indicating that you are satisfied with the procedure. If you are not satisfied with the doping control procedure, please indicate your reasons in the comments section of the form.

11. Completion of testing

You will receive copies of all forms you sign, which must be kept for 6 weeks in case an adverse test result is discovered.

The vial containing your sample is sealed and placed in a special transport bag, and sent to a WADA-accredited laboratory. After the sample arrives at the laboratory, it is checked that the samples were not damaged during transportation, and that the contents of the bottles correspond to the descriptions in the attached documentation. The laboratory then analyzes the "A" sample while keeping the "B" sample sealed. In the event of an unfavorable test result, you must be informed of this fact within 3-4 weeks after the laboratory receives the sample. However, in some cases, a sample can be stored without analysis for a long time.

Sanctions for athletes caught doping

Detection of doping threatens the athlete with severe penalties, including complete exclusion from the sport. When prohibited drugs are detected for the first time (with the exception of sympathomimetic drugs such as ephedrine and its derivatives), he is disqualified for 2 years, if repeated - for life. If you take sympathomimetics for the first time, you will be disqualified for 6 months, the second time - for 2 years, and the third time - for life. In this case, the coach and doctor who observed the athlete are also subject to punishment. The use of any substances officially classified as narcotic drugs as doping entails appropriate administrative and criminal penalties. Currently, proposals have been made to the country's legislative bodies to introduce criminal penalties for taking anabolic steroids without medical indications or inducing them to take them.