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read moreA new taskforce has been established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with a focus on unintentional doping.
WADA announced in November 2024 the seven members of the taskforce, which includes Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) Director of Education, Alexis Cooper.
Cooper said it was important for Australia to have representation on the taskforce and noted “unintentional doping is a real risk facing athletes in Australia.
“When I first started in the education role back in 2018, around one in three anti-doping cases were the result of athletes being caught out when there was no intent to cheat.
“Back then, this was largely due to supplements, but unintentional doping can also occur from accidentally taking a medication with a banned ingredient, by failing to update whereabouts information, or not following the rules around urine collection.”
Sport Integrity Australia advises that Australia’s representation on the taskforce is testament to progress made in mitigating unintentional doping over time.
It also provides an opportunity to help reduce risk even further for Australian athletes.
Cooper added “every time an athlete is sanctioned for a doping violation when they had no intent to cheat, it can have a bigger impact than we realise.
“These cases can erode confidence in the system, and they can also significantly impact athletes’ wellbeing.
“The ultimate aim of the Taskforce is to reduce unintentional doping across the entire global system, for the benefit of every clean athlete who competes.”
The Taskforce will seek input from the anti-doping community and other relevant groups to:
Cooper said the taskforce aligns with her biggest passions – protecting athletes, helping them understand the rules and ensuring the system can focus efforts on stopping deliberate cheats.
“I’m a big believer that athletes want to compete clean, and the majority of Australian athletes have no intention to dope,” Cooper shared.
“It’s heart breaking to see athletes locked out of their sport for mistakes with supplements or medications, not understanding or adhering to the rules to their full extent, or any other form of unintentional doping.
“However, we also need to recognise that very few athletes under investigation for doping ever admit to doping on purpose, and that "i didn’t know” or “i didn’t mean it” can be a convenient excuse used by athlete to try to get out of a ban, even if they knew full well what they were doing.
“For that reason, it’s important that the system has the right balance of athlete accountability, with flexibility to recognise unintentional doping is a risk, and an understanding of how to manage and prevent it.”
While Australia has had recent success in reducing the number of unintentional doping cases caused by supplement use, Cooper said it’s important to never rest on our laurels noting “the threat of unintentional doping remains ever-present in Australia. Recent research shows supplements in Australia are still a serious risk to athletes, and we still have too many unintentional cases caused by illicit drugs, for example, cocaine.
“The risk of contamination is also real in Australia.
“There is much we can learn from experts across the system on this subject. Being one of the four National Anti-Doping Organisations at the table on this Taskforce puts us in prime position to learn, improve and be better.”
It’s hoped the taskforce will help provide guidance to all Anti-Doping Organisations on how to prevent unintentional doping and provide insight on other parts of the system that may need adjusting.
Cooper advised “we’ll soon be putting out a Call for Contributions for any sport, coach, academic or athlete to contribute to, and I look forward to seeing how those views and experiences shape our work.”
Members of the Taskforce are:
Image. Members of the Unintentional Doping Taskforce with WADA staff. Credit: Sport Integrity Australia
8th November 2024 - Sport Integrity Australia agrees to continue its support of Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organization
27th April 2024 - Swimming Australia and Sport Integrity Australia welcome WADA investigation into Chinese doping
26th April 2024 - WADA asks prosecutor to review Chinese Olympic swimming doping case
13th September 2023 - SportAccord becomes Signatory of World Anti-Doping Code
26th June 2023 - Drug Free Sport New Zealand aims ‘to get doping out of sport’
10th March 2023 - Athletics NZ under scrutiny from global anti-doping body over fall in drug testing
16th November 2022 - Australian Sports Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Platform in Canada
8th December 2020 - Sport Integrity Australia and WADA to appeal reduction in Shayna Jack’s doping suspension
9th September 2020 - Drug Free Sport New Zealand shares review recommendations on school rugby anti-doping programme
10th December 2019 - World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from Tokyo Olympics and 2022 FIFA World Cup
19th November 2019 - Drug Free Sport NZ holds successful first anti-doping conference
16th October 2019 - Melbourne media cast doubts over ASADA’s handling of Essendon doping scandal
11th September 2019 - Australian Parliament agrees legislation to create Tribunal to handle doping and integrity breaches
30th July 2019 - ASADA says confidentiality vital to anti-doping process
29th July 2019 - Swimming Australia scrutinised over handling of Shayna Jack doping result
22nd August 2018 - ASADA Chief Executive David Sharpe says integrity reforms can end doping conflicts
5th December 2017 - State-sponsored doping program sees Russia banned from PyeongChang Winter Olympics
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Commercial gym equipment supplier Aussie Strength was wound up at the end of 2022. .aussie p { padding:20px; }
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