WADA Releases Rio 2016 Report of the Independent Observers

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently published their Independent Observer Team’s (IO Team’s) Report on the anti-doping program at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The IO Team attends each Olympic Games by invitation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and in conjunction with requirements out-lined in the World Anti-Doping Code. While present at the Games the IO Team has multiple roles that they aim to accomplish. The first is to instill confidence in the athletic community regarding the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of the anti-doping programs the IOC has set up for the Games. Secondly, they are to provide feedback and and suggest where “real-time” improvements could be made in regards to the Games. Lastly, the team creates a list of recommendations within the post-Games Report for improvements to the program for future Games.

Despite the Games’ successes there were also a number of logistical failings reported including, budget and operational cutbacks which resulted in previously allocated resources being lost; tensions between Rio 2016 and the Brazilian Anti-Doping Agency; significant changes in management and staff less than one year before the Games; and a lack of a unified approach among the management team throughout the Games.

Jonathan Taylor, IO Team Chair, explained that,

The anti-doping program, which was implemented and overseen by the IOC, was able to achieve a number of positive outcomes in the face of very challenging circumstances in Rio. Despite staffing issues, resource constraints and other logistical difficulties, those tasked with implementation of the program, and in particular the volunteers, deserve immense credit for ensuring that the rights of clean athletes were safeguarded.

Taylor continued, noting,

Furthermore, the IOC is to be commended for embracing new advances in the delivery of the Olympic anti-doping program–many of which were recommendations from previous IO Team Reports. These advances included the establishment of testing and intelligence efforts in advance of the Games through a dedicated ‘taskforce’; the collection of samples during the Games period outside of accredited Olympic venues both within Brazil and globally; as well as, other initiatives such as a Games-time Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU); and, the establishment of a new Court of Arbitration division to handle anti-doping cases as a first instance panel.

Within the Executive Summary of the Report (located on page 4), the IO Team noted that there were a number of previous recommendations that the IOC implemented, resulting in advances to the anti-doping program. These implementations include: pre-Games Taskforce planning; further definition regarding Out-of-Competition and In-Competition testing periods; and the attendance of a special anti-doping counsel to support the IOC legal team, among others.

Additionally, the Laboratorio Brasileiro de Controle de Dopagem (LBCD) responded to new requirements that came about after the McLaren Report resulting in their lab being “superbly equipped, operat[ing] very securely and generally very efficiently.” The IO Team expressed faith that the LBCD will continue to be a beacon for the anti-doping movement in South America and that they left an outstanding legacy for the 2016 Rio Games.

IO Team Rio Report Table of Contents

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Read the full IO Team Report here.

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