Doping has existed in sport for a long time: in the 1950s, athletes doped themselves primarily with stimulants, and later also with anabolic steroids and blood doping agents. Because cheating became rampant, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was founded in 1999. WADA is celebrating its 25th anniversary at its symposium this week.
The fencer Léa Krüger is part of the executive board of Athletes Germany. In this role, Krüger advocates for the rights of athletes. 25 years of WADA? Of course it’s an occasion to celebrate, she says. From their point of view, the founding of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999 was a huge gain and step forward.
“I think 190 countries have joined WADA and the UNESCO agreement behind it.”, says Krueger. With the WADA code, a globally uniform set of doping regulations was created for the first time. “There is a list of medications that are banned, and they are banned for all athletes.”
Prohibited list, ADAMS reporting system and blood passport
Since then, the fight against doping has been organized by WADA, a neutral body. And no longer from the sports associations themselves. “That was a big problem, and I believe that the whole thing should be made more independent, more sustainable, and then more credible for the sport.”says Lars Mortsiefer, chairman of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), the national branch of WADA in Germany.
Further milestones: The ADAMS reporting system, with which athletes must report their whereabouts online for unannounced doping tests. Or the so-called blood passport. “An instrument that is able to look at different blood parameters over a longer period of time and then actually detect doping”said Mortsiefer.
From 2014 onwards, the Russian doping system was examined with the help of investigative commissions and the Canadian investigator Richard McLaren. “More than 1,000 Russian athletes from summer, winter and disability sports were involved in the cover-up and benefited from it”McLaren explained at the time.
Is WADA really independent?
So far so good. If it weren’t for the criticism that sport still has too much influence. And there are far too many representatives of sports associations and the International Olympic Committee on the management bodies of WADA. “It would definitely be desirable and sensible for us athletes if WADA could act more independently.”says Léa Krüger.
WADA, meanwhile, refers to its reform process. And that the management committees now also include athlete representatives. But that doesn’t go far enough for Léa Krüger. “Yes, we can have some say, but we can’t really have a say”she points out. “To really express a voice that has equal rights on the same level as that of organized sport, or maybe even weighs a little more, because in the end it’s about us. We don’t have that at the moment.”
Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, criticizes the fact that the same rules do not apply to sports officials and government representatives as to athletes: “After the Russian doping scandal, a rule was actually supposed to be introduced that the people who organize doping in the background can also be punished. But this rule was then deleted again. That was a slap in the face for the clean athletes.”
The dopers’ environment usually remains unmolested
Athlete representative Léa Krüger also calls for the athletes’ environment to finally be brought into focus. “It’s very rare for an athlete to have the idea of resorting to doping substances, and even if he does, he needs a system behind it that supports him. And that’s why it’s all the more important to have all these structures and the environment around us athletes in this regard “We also have to take more responsibility. And of course that depends on being able to punish those who do it. And that’s missing again now.”says Krueger. “And that’s why yes, I would very much like this point to be addressed again and again in the future, and we will definitely manage to get it included in the WADA code at some point.”
Right now, in the qualifying phase for the Olympics in Paris, Léa Krüger is being rigorously tested by the German NADA. Fencers from other nations, she says, have far fewer controls: “And as an athlete you naturally ask yourself, how can it be that things are so close-knit here in Germany and not at all in other countries. I would definitely like to see this become even more standardized in the future. And that WADA, above all, should pay more attention to this.”
A lot has already been achieved with the founding of WADA and the progress made over the first 25 years – but there is clearly still a lot to be done.