“Luckily I saw the call”
Doping control: athlete has to leave the cinema
October 8, 2025 – 11:17 p.mReading time: 1 min.
800-meter runner Alica Schmidt had just made herself comfortable in the cinema seat when the doping controllers called. The film ended prematurely for her.
Alica Schmidt wanted to unwind on Tuesday with a relaxing evening at the cinema. But nothing came of it: the German athlete had to leave the film early – because of an unannounced doping control.
On Wednesday morning, the 26-year-old posted a photo on her Instagram story showing equipment used for a check. The time: 9:53 p.m. She writes that she received the call from inspectors during the film.
“I had to leave the film last night after 30 minutes, but luckily I saw the call,” reports Schmidt. The inspectors would report anonymously, callbacks would not be possible “and after 30 minutes you will get a missed test,” she wrote. In competitive sports, the following applies: three missed controls result in a ban.
Schmidt recently had to struggle with health setbacks. After a corona infection, she found it difficult to get back to her old form. This season she switched from her previous special distance of 400 meters to the 800 meters.
She was not nominated for the World Championships in Tokyo (September 13th to 21st) – her season’s best time of 2:03.21 minutes is several seconds above the required standard of the German Athletics Association. In the past, Schmidt was regularly part of the 4×400 meter relay team at international competitions.