US athletes tops the list of athletes violating whereabout rule


101 athletes have so far been registered in the Anti-Doping Database for failing to provide whereabout information. US athletes tops the statistics.

 

Of these 101, 19 are from the USA, and the latest one to be banned from article 2.4 (Failure to provide whereabout information) is the American Olympic champion Brianna Rollins.

The typical suspension for such a violation is one year. 43 athletes has been banned from practicing sports for 12 months.

18 has been given a two year suspension, and out of the 18 - eight are from the US. Portugal has suspended two athletes for violating this rule.

Why provide whereabout information

On it's website, WADA writes:

"Because out-of-competition doping controls can be conducted without notice to athletes, they are one of the most powerful means of deterrence and detection of doping and are an important step in strengthening athlete and public confidence in doping-free sport. Accurate whereabouts information is crucial to ensure efficiency of the anti-doping programs, which are designed to protect the integrity of sport and to protect clean athletes.

The concept of out-of-competition is not new. Experience has shown that out-of-competition testing is crucial to the fight against doping, in particular because a number of prohibited substances and methods are detectable only for a limited period of time in an athlete’s body while maintaining a performance-enhancing effect. The only way to perform such testing is by knowing where athletes are, and the only way to make it efficient is to be able to test athletes at times at which cheaters may be most likely to use prohibited substances and methods."

Do they need to know where I am 24/7

No, an athlete do not have to tell WADA or the national anti-doping organization that they are in the shop for 10 minutes, or will visit their parents in the evening.

An Athlete in a Registered Testing Pool is also required to specify in his/her Whereabouts Filing, for each day in the forthcoming quarter, one specific 60-minute time slot where he/she will be available at a specified location for Testing: see Clause 11.4. This does not limit in any way the Athlete’s obligation to be available for Testing at any time and place. Nor does it limit his/her obligation to provide the information specified in Clause 11.3 as to his/her whereabouts outside of that 60-minute time slot.

However, if the Athlete is not available for Testing at such location during the 60-minute time slot specified for that day in his/her Whereabouts Filing, and has not updated his/her Whereabouts Filing prior to that 60-minute time slot to provide an alternative time slot/location for that day, that failure shall amount to a Missed Test and shall therefore constitute a Whereabouts Failure for purposes of Code Article 2.4.

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