In all likelihood, there is some kind of PED we don't even know about and that is not yet detectable (or that nobody is looking for in analysis). It has happened basically in any decade in the last 50 years or so, so assuming that now all of a sudden everybody (or the vast majority) stopped doing that (while running even faster!) is unfortunately very naive...
The WADA guys should do their job properly and do more testing in Europe. There are many shady coaches and athletes in the UK, Spain, France, Norway, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands who have the ressources to engage in sophisticated micro dosing. They start doping teenage athletes in order to save their respective jobs with their federations.
Fraud should not be rewarded. It would be good if prosecutors enforce the penal code and get them into jail.
Reality: out of competition testing can be dodged by cheaters
+1
Its magnitude is also overrated, and certain NADOs have a history of providing the athletes with warning calls/texts, see Coleman and Kiprop for example.
FYI, from AIU's 11 March 2024 press release:
For context, 2,004 athletes competed in Budapest, compared to 1,719 in Eugene (a 17% increase). The testing statistics relate to tests conducted by either the AIU or National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) in the ten months preceding the event and do not include tests conducted onsite before or during the Championships. HIGHLIGHTS AND COMPARISONS National Teams Testing Levels Budapest | Athletics Integrity UnitTesting Statistics – Pre-Budapest 2023 • 5,542 OOC tests were conducted on athletes in the lead-up period to Budapest, compared to 4,235 for Eugene (30% increase). • 2,924 in-competition tests prior to Budapest compared to 2,124 prior to Eugene (37% increase). • 8,466 total tests prior to Budapest compared to 6,359 for Eugene (33% increase). • A decrease of six per cent (from 33% to 27%) in the number of athletes at the Championships with zero OOC tests in the lead-up period. • A three-per-cent increase (from 81% to 84%) in the number of athletes who finished Top-8 in an individual event with three or more OOC tests. • Top-8 finishers were tested on average 5.54 times OOC in the lead-up to Budapest, compared with 4.8 times in Eugene. • Kenya (11.4), China (11.3), Ethiopia (8.9), Morocco (7.1) and USA (6) averaged the highest number of tests per athlete pre-Budapest.
This also tells you the average OOC test per athlete over 10 months:
Budapest: 5542 tests for 2004 athletes -> 2.8 per athlete -> 0.28 per month per athlete
Eugene: 4235 tests for 1719 athletes -> 2.5 per athlete -> 0.25 per month per athlete
And everyone is allowed to "miss" 2 tests within 12 months... just install a quiet doorbell, or travel a lot, problem solved.
Reality: out of competition testing can be dodged by cheaters
+1
Its magnitude is also overrated, and certain NADOs have a history of providing the athletes with warning calls/texts, see Coleman and Kiprop for example.
FYI, from AIU's 11 March 2024 press release:
For context, 2,004 athletes competed in Budapest, compared to 1,719 in Eugene (a 17% increase). The testing statistics relate to tests conducted by either the AIU or National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) in the ten months preceding the event and do not include tests conducted onsite before or during the Championships. HIGHLIGHTS AND COMPARISONS National Teams Testing Levels Budapest | Athletics Integrity UnitTesting Statistics – Pre-Budapest 2023 • 5,542 OOC tests were conducted on athletes in the lead-up period to Budapest, compared to 4,235 for Eugene (30% increase). • 2,924 in-competition tests prior to Budapest compared to 2,124 prior to Eugene (37% increase). • 8,466 total tests prior to Budapest compared to 6,359 for Eugene (33% increase). • A decrease of six per cent (from 33% to 27%) in the number of athletes at the Championships with zero OOC tests in the lead-up period. • A three-per-cent increase (from 81% to 84%) in the number of athletes who finished Top-8 in an individual event with three or more OOC tests. • Top-8 finishers were tested on average 5.54 times OOC in the lead-up to Budapest, compared with 4.8 times in Eugene. • Kenya (11.4), China (11.3), Ethiopia (8.9), Morocco (7.1) and USA (6) averaged the highest number of tests per athlete pre-Budapest.
This also tells you the average OOC test per athlete over 10 months:
Budapest: 5542 tests for 2004 athletes -> 2.8 per athlete -> 0.28 per month per athlete
Eugene: 4235 tests for 1719 athletes -> 2.5 per athlete -> 0.25 per month per athlete
And everyone is allowed to "miss" 2 tests within 12 months... just install a quiet doorbell, or travel a lot, problem solved.
Personally I wasn't aware of those numbers, but if the average of OOC tests is 3 tests per year per athlete (well, 2.8 so even less) and basically you can miss 2 tests per year literally without consequences, in other words it means that OOC testing for the "average athlete" is close to non existent (ok theoretically you still have one test per year, but unless you are and idiot with full throttle EPO like if it were 1994, then you are fine).
Must have been a real paradise for the dopers before the AIU started testing them, as half of those tests were from the AIU - not to mention some lenient if not downright corrupt NADOs.
Also note: the tests are the sample numbers, not as USADA puts it, the numbers of test sessions, for often they do more than one test with one visit! Meaning if you got three tests as is average, that may all have been in one visit, which makes doping even easier.
USADA: "This search includes all samples collected from athletes conducted for USADA’s Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American testing programs. The number of samples USADA has collected is typically not the number of test sessions an individual athlete has been selected for during a given period, as multiple samples (e.g., blood, urine, Dried Blood Spot) are often collected during a test session. Thus, the number of samples collected typically does not equate to the number of times an athlete has been selected for an in-competition or out-of-competition test session with a USADA Doping Control Officer.The number of samples USADA has collected is typically not the number of test sessions an individual athlete has been selected for during a given period, as multiple samples (e.g., blood, urine, Dried Blood Spot) are often collected during a test session. Thus, the number of samples collected typically does not equate to the number of times an athlete has been selected for an in-competition or out-of-competition test session with a USADA Doping Control Officer."
