With the 29th summer Olympic Games still more than 300 days away, both organizers of the games and their participants are already hoping that the competitions will proceed fairly and professionally. The main concern is whether athletes will observe anti-doping rules. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is now establishing Regional Anti-Doping Organizations (RADO) all over the world. (RADOs are already functioning in 119 countries.) Since Ukraine is an active participant in world sporting events, it has also joined the Eastern European RADO with its headquarters in Belarus.
According to Serhii Bubka, president of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, doping substances pose the gravest threat to an athlete.
“The use of drugs is not only a violation of the rules but also of the athlete’s moral code,” says Bubka. “There is a worldwide ban on the use of diuretics, anabolic agents, beta-2 antagonists, and substances that promote the transfer of oxygen. If an athlete violates the anti-doping regulations, s/he is subject to punishments ranging from a warning to lifetime ineligibility. So before taking a stimulant, every athlete should consider the implications for his or her future — to stick with sports or quit the game.”
Since 167 sports, including 53 Olympic ones, are registered in Ukraine, the question of RADO membership should be decided at the governmental level. Viktor Khrystoiev, Deputy Minister for Sports, Youth, and Social Policies, claims that it is difficult to make any moves without budgetary funds. A doping control body has to be created, as well as a number of informational and educational programs for the government, sports organizations, and athletes.
“Although the program is being drawn up by a joint effort of all the members of the Eastern European RADO, we have to complete a lot of tasks by ourselves,” Khrystoiev says. “For example, it is up to every country to disseminate information throughout the sports community about the risks of doping abuse. This means organizing training courses for athletes and young people. WADA will be assisting countries that have joined RADOs to develop effective programs for training doping control inspectors. They are the ones who will be completely responsible for upholding anti-doping rules during competitions.”
The question of creating RADOs was first raised when police detected doping agents in the blood of Tour de France participants. According to WADA Deputy Director General Rob Koehler, this gave the impetus to establishing the World Anti-Doping Code.
“Since laboratories that analyze athletes’ samples are usually independent organizations, it is very difficult to control their work. They are just working in the sphere of sports and are not supervised by WADA. This is why the World Anti-Doping Convention was adopted in February 2007,” says Koehler. “The convention states that the authorities of every country should simplify the analysis of samples in laboratories and encourage national producers that do not use doping additives in food. We are also suggesting that a committee be set up to manage the results for all RADOs, in which every country will have a representative.”
Athletes who have just begun their sports career have nothing to fear from these new organizations and programs, and should not abandon ship. It takes very little to keep afloat: above all, it should be understood that honesty is valued everywhere, even in such a complex world as sports.
