The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has recommended the use of older containers for drug testing samples at the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as it confirmed an integrity problem concerning redesigned bottles.
WADA director-general Olivier Niggli said in a statement on Thursday that the agency had sourced enough containers for the Feb. 9 to 25 Games, and that the containers used at the Rio 2016 Olympics reported no such issues.
“Our clear recommendation to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is that it continues to use the earlier model, which is still used by a number of testing authorities around the world.
“This should be seen as a precautionary measure that guarantees the integrity of the doping control process at the Games,’’ Niggli stressed.
WADA confirmed that “a proportion of the new generation BEREG-KIT Geneva security bottles are susceptible to manual opening without evidence of tampering, whether they have been frozen or not.”
The bottles were redesigned after revelations that those used at the Sochi 2014 Games were tampered with for sample-swapping as part of the Russian doping affair.
Sample bottles are used to collect and store urine and blood samples from athletes.
A media report said the b-sample is generally frozen and used if an athlete has tested positive through a sample. (dpa/NAN)
