4 ms·

Interesting - that is the first I am hearing this. Why does covid affect the drug testing?

baryphonic 6y ago
My guess is the close quarters nature of drug testing (most protocols involve physical observation of the person giving the sample during the process) is a concern during COVID.
sandworm101 6y ago
>> Why does covid affect the drug testing? Because they cannot visit the athletes randomly. Because the athletes aren't training every day at a center, instead are training solo at lots of different places. Because much testing is tied to specific events (eg olympics) that have been cancelled. Cancel enough events and multi-month windows open where athletes know they will not be subject to testing. And with fewer events, those that are still happening become much more important. If there is only one qualifying event on the calendar then there is all the more pressure to perform on that day. There is no point in saving anything for the rest of the season. So athletes will risk injury if that means doing a little better that one day. If they are hurt they know they will have have a long while to recover.
- sorenjan 6y ago
  But the testing doesn't just take place at competitions. Athletes have to report where they are every day, and failure to do so leads to warnings and eventually sanctions. They can be tested at any time, but maybe various agencies have cut back on that during the pandemic. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/adams https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/adams
  - sandworm101 6y ago
    It becomes more difficult as athletes move further away from standard training facilities. They still need to report their locations but those locations are now more scattered. That is IF athletes are in the system. With so many events cancelled and athletes looking at a year or more between competitions, many might not need to participate in anti-doping programs for extended periods of time.
  - mschuster91 6y ago
    > They can be tested at any time Assuming that the various lockdown protocols allow it. Many countries have had (or still have) massive intra-country travel restrictions, some such as Italy had periods of complete curfew. Also, laboratories were generally either ordered or "volunteered" to prioritise covid19 swabs over drug tests.
hydroxideOH- 6y ago
Regular random testing of athletes slowed down over the last year since almost all competitions were cancelled.

My guess is the close quarters nature of drug testing (most protocols involve physical observation of the person giving the sample during the process) is a concern during COVID.

sandworm101 6y ago

>> Why does covid affect the drug testing? Because they cannot visit the athletes randomly. Because the athletes aren't training every day at a center, instead are training solo at lots of different places. Because much testing is tied to specific events (eg olympics) that have been cancelled. Cancel enough events and multi-month windows open where athletes know they will not be subject to testing. And with fewer events, those that are still happening become much more important. If there is only one qualifying event on the calendar then there is all the more pressure to perform on that day. There is no point in saving anything for the rest of the season. So athletes will risk injury if that means doing a little better that one day. If they are hurt they know they will have have a long while to recover.

sorenjan 6y ago
But the testing doesn't just take place at competitions. Athletes have to report where they are every day, and failure to do so leads to warnings and eventually sanctions. They can be tested at any time, but maybe various agencies have cut back on that during the pandemic. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/adams https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/adams
- sandworm101 6y ago
  It becomes more difficult as athletes move further away from standard training facilities. They still need to report their locations but those locations are now more scattered. That is IF athletes are in the system. With so many events cancelled and athletes looking at a year or more between competitions, many might not need to participate in anti-doping programs for extended periods of time.
- mschuster91 6y ago
  > They can be tested at any time Assuming that the various lockdown protocols allow it. Many countries have had (or still have) massive intra-country travel restrictions, some such as Italy had periods of complete curfew. Also, laboratories were generally either ordered or "volunteered" to prioritise covid19 swabs over drug tests.

hydroxideOH- 6y ago

Regular random testing of athletes slowed down over the last year since almost all competitions were cancelled.