Portuguese athletes will face stricter out-of-competition anti-doping controls in order to be eligible for the Paris2024 Olympic Games, the World Athletics board approved today, following a recommendation from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
“Athletes from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Portugal will face stricter out-of-competition checks to be eligible for the Paris2024 Olympic Games, after the World Athletics board approved the recommendation of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) management to impose tighter testing criteria on these federations ahead of the Olympic Games,” reads a statement from the AIU.
In the note, the anti-doping authority reveals that the four federations, including the Portuguese Athletics Federation, received “clear warnings” from the AIU about the “insufficiency of their national [anti-doping] testing programs after the Eugene2022 World Athletics Championships”.
“All four have failed to ensure that there are out-of-competition tests for their national teams at the following World Championships in Budapest2023. Consequently, the council accepted the AIU’s call for the four federations to impose eligibility conditions on their athletes so that they can take part in Paris2024,” the statement added.
As conditions, the anti-doping authority begins by stating that, “in the 10 months prior to July 4, 2024, each athlete must undergo at least three controls (urine and blood) out of competition, including a control for the biological passport and another for the detection of EPO in any race from 800 meters onwards”.
“The three surprise checks must be carried out at least three weeks apart. The first of the three out-of-competition checks must have been carried out no earlier than May 19, 2024,” lists the AIU.
The authority clarifies that these “mandatory tests will affect athletes who are not registered with the AIU control”.
Contacted by the Lusa news agency, the president of the Portuguese Athletics Federation deferred comment until later.
