UK Anti-Doping focuses on targeted testing for Paris 2024, with plans to educate 2,470 Team GB and ParalympicsGB hopefuls
With six months to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games begin, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has announced details of its education and testing plans for athletes and athlete support personnel representing Team GB and ParalympicsGB.
UKAD will be collaborating with other International Federations (IF) and the International Testing Agency (ITA) to coordinate its comprehensive pre-games testing, which will target athletes aiming to qualify for and who are already selected to compete at the Games.
UKAD has also begun conducting reanalysis of samples held in long term storage taken from athletes likely to compete in Paris 2024. Samples can be stored and made accessible for reanalysis for up to 10 years. This maximises the opportunity for laboratories to deploy improved detection techniques that might identify doping.
Hamish Coffey, Director of Operations at UKAD, said: “Our testing programme targets the greatest threats to clean sport with a focus on the build up to major sporting events. We have already begun targeting athletes seeking selection at Paris 2024 and will continue to do so over the coming months.
“Being able to reanalyse historic samples taken from any athletes that are selected for both Games will add an extra layer of assurance that they are competing clean. It’s an important and increasingly powerful tool to catch cheats, which we will utilise in the build up to Paris 2024.
In addition to its testing programme, UKAD has stated that all GB athletes and support personnel who are set to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will receive clean sport education.
Athletes and support personnel are required to complete mandatory clean sport education to be able to compete in a Major Games, as set out in the 2021-2025Clean Games Policy. Signatories to the policy include the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) as well as other agencies.
UKAD has begun coordinating education for 1,240 long-listed athletes hoping to represent Team GB and ParalympicsGB. This includes the completion of its Learning course on Clean Sport Hub, followed by clean sport scenario workshops covering subjects such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), supplements and reporting doping.
A further 1,230 high performance coaches and support personnel attending the Games will receive education ahead of Paris 2024.
Once the final teams for the Games are confirmed, athletes and support personnel will then go on to attend a clean games workshop covering the Anti-Doping Rules specific to Paris 2024.
Upon completion of their education, each athlete will be presented with their own Squeaky duck; UKAD’s clean sport mascot. Squeaky was launched at London 2012 as a symbol of an individual’s commitment to clean sport education and to remaining squeaky clean. UKAD rebrands Squeaky ahead of each Major Games, including the Olympics and Paralympics, to allow athletes to collect different versions of the duck throughout their in-competition careers.
Revealed today, the newly rebranded Squeaky features the colours of the French flag and says ‘100% Moi’, a nod to UKAD’s 100% Me education programme.
Jane Rumble, UKAD’s Chief Executive, commented: “Ensuring athletes and support personnel know their rights, responsibilities and what to expect when it comes to anti-doping and testing is vital. Our education team work tirelessly to equip the many talented people heading to a Major Games with the knowledge they need to maintain a level playing field.
“It’s a big task to educate the 2,470 long listed athletes and support personnel ahead of Paris 2024 but it’s vital in helping to protect the integrity of sport. I look forward to seeing them all go into the Games with the clean sport knowledge needed and with a Squeaky mascot in hand.”
Ama Agbeze, newly appointed UKAD Board Member and Chair of the Athlete Commission, added: “A vital part of an athlete’s job is to complete their clean sport education, which is even more crucial in the lead up to a Major Games. Competitors and the public alike want to know that what they are engaged with is a clean competition, and UKAD’s robust education and testing programmes will help to provide that confidence. I’m very excited to watch the Games unfold and to see more of Squeaky, the clean sport mascot, in the build-up.”
To find out more about UKAD’s education and Squeaky campaign, visit the UKAD website.
With thanks to UKAD
