RANDOM doping tests are a part of in-competition sports meets.
Athletes are picked, both from among winners and losers, to be tested.
Yet, several state athlete personnel (ASP) at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) are playing hardball, and refusing to let their athletes be tested. The excuse given? They did not win medals.
The officials claim the selection of non-medalist athletes will add unnecessary pressure on the athletes, leaving the Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia (Adamas) in a quandary, and putting the athletes or ASP’s at risk of committing the anti-doping rules violation.“The concern initially came from the officers, such as managers or coaches, who questioned and refused to cooperate with Adamas on why we selected non-medallists for testing,” said Adamas director Azura Abidin, who hopes that athletes and officials will cooperate when approached for doping tests.
“Our doping control officers have explained the selection method and the consequences of not complying to the anti-doping rules,” she said.
Under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulation, an athlete or ASP can face sanctions if found tampering.
“Our advice is that all athletes and their support personnel should adhere to the Anti Doping Code and Adamas anti-doping rules to avoid violations.”
The random selection can be conducted in two ways – weighted random selection and completely random selection.
Under the weighted selection ranks, athletes face higher chances of being selected if they perform beyond their normal standards, while completely random selection will see athletes chosen arbitrarily, with no specific criteria.
Either way, the sports associations have to comply.
