“At the Paris 2024 Olympics, athletes were suspended for testing positive for banned substances. Even if you don’t get caught now, in the future, as testing technology improves and banned substances are detected, medals can be stripped. Athletes who don’t compete fairly will have to pay the price one day.”
Jeon Sang-gyun, who finished fourth in the men’s 105kg+ weightlifting category at the 2012 London Olympics, reclaimed his bronze medal after 12 years. It came after Russia’s bronze medalist Ruslan Albegov was later found to have taken a banned substance. Jeon stood on the weightlifting podium at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 9. It’s a case of fair sport in action.
The Korea Anti-Doping Agency (KADA) is an organization that symbolizes ‘fair sport’. KADA sent 13 doping control experts to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, the largest team in its history. This is a testament to the organization’s ability to manage doping at the highest international level.
“More than 600 doping control experts from around the world applied for the Paris Games, and 150 were selected,” KADA’s Kwak Sang-soo told Sporting News. KADA sent 13 doping testers, the most ever for a Paralympic Games. Other countries typically send two, three, or even five doping control officers. “We believe this was possible because Korea’s doping control system has been recognized on the international stage from the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics to the Gangwon 2024 Youth Winter Games.
The Paris Olympics saw several “doping arrests” of athletes. Iraqi men’s judoka Sajjad Sehen was found to have a banned substance, an anabolic steroid, in a doping test ahead of the opening ceremony. Nigerian female boxer Cynthia Ogunsmiller was caught taking a diuretic, a common drug used to treat heart failure.
“Olympic medalists are not the only ones who are tested for doping,” said Kwak Sang-soo. Any athlete participating in the Olympics can be tested. Pre-testing and targeted testing are also conducted in the athletes’ village. Every year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) updates the list of banned substances, so athletes should be familiar with it.”
The procedure for conducting a doping test is also important. If the doping control is not carried out according to the correct procedure, the results may be invalidated.
“Once the athlete has finished the race, the doping control officer or a trained Chaperone will approach the athlete and inform them that they have been selected 안전놀이터 for testing. There are three types of doping controls. There are three types of doping controls: urine tests, blood tests, and dried blood spot (DBS) tests. The athlete is informed which of the three tests will be performed and the test is performed. For a big event like the Olympics, the results are usually available within 24 hours, but normally it takes about three weeks.”
“Urine and blood specimens are stored in two separate bottles, A and B. Bottle A is analyzed immediately, while Bottle B is stored for up to 10 years with a view to re-analysis. This is because anti-doping drugs and substances that are not detected now may be detected years later as testing techniques improve over time. It is important that testing procedures are strictly followed according to international standards. In fact, there have been cases where prohibited substances have been detected and athletes have not been sanctioned due to errors or negligence in the testing process.”
Sport is all about fairness and trust. KADA Inspector Kwak Sang-soo emphasized that continuous anti-doping education is essential to ensure fair competition, which is an intrinsic value of sport.
“All athletes, coaches, managers, team doctors, and other sports officials must be fully aware of the anti-doping rules to prevent them from being victimized or sanctioned inadvertently. I believe that the Korean athletes are well versed in the anti-doping regulations as the KADA has done a good job of educating them before the Games.”
“As a doping control officer, I always have a sense of responsibility to protect athletes from drugs and a sense of duty to create a fair sports environment. Just as the national athletes compete hard, as a Korean doping control laboratory, I will be as thorough and compliant as any other laboratory in the world.”