Media information on the ITA Tokyo 2020 anti-doping program

The ITA is an international organisation constituted as a not-for-profit foundation, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its mission is to manage anti-doping programs, independent from sporting or political powers and any real or perceived conflicts of interest, for International Federations (IFs), Major Event Organisers (MEOs) and all other anti-doping organisations requesting support.

We are a fair, transparent and intelligence-led organisation that has the welfare of athletes, the integrity of events and the reputation of sporting bodies at its heart. We gather together subject experts with significant experience in the field to help support the best sporting experience in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and its connected International Standards.

The ITA began its operations in July 2018 as the result of a desire for a united approach to keeping sport clean.

In accordance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s anti-doping regulations applicable for the Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the IOC has handed over its entire anti-doping program to the ITA in order for it to be managed independently by dedicated experts that carry their know-how from one edition of the Games to another. The ITA is not only responsible for handling the pre-Games and Games-time anti-doping programs for all editions of the Olympic Games, but also leads re-analysis and long-term storage projects for the IOC.

The ITA is leading the most extensive anti-doping program for Tokyo 2020 that has ever been implemented for an edition of the Olympic Games. The program is divided into the following stages:

Pre-Games

The ITA pre-Games Expert Group began working on an extensive risk assessment on a large population of athletes that were likely to qualify for Tokyo 2020 from all 33 sports in 2019. It considered data such as participating countries, risks and history of doping as well as testing statistics in these countries, the physiological profile of the sport, individual data of the athletes, intelligence received, and other relevant factors. The outcome of this large-scale evaluation were over 25’000 recommendations that the expert group issued to concerned National and Regional Anti-Doping Organisations and Summer Olympic International Federations all over the world with one objective: protecting the integrity of the Olympic Games by promoting a level-playing field and closing potential testing gaps for athletes carrying a certain elevated risk level in the crucial period ahead of the Games.

You can find more information on the ITA’s pre-Games testing program here.

2-month Testing Authority ahead of the Games

The IOC and the ITA have secured an extended testing jurisdiction for the IOC allowing the ITA to conduct additional testing to take place two months ahead of Tokyo 2020. This extended jurisdiction will help fill targeted testing gaps through doping controls implemented directly by the ITA.

Games-time anti-doping activities

The ITA will continue its intelligence-led pre-Games work on-site in Tokyo on the basis of the abovementioned risk assessment, implementing mostly targeted both Out- and In-Competition testing throughout the event, and plans on collecting approximately 5’000 samples. The ultimate number of collected samples will be determined by various factors on the ground. All doping controls are targeted and unannounced.

Long-term storage and re-analysis

All samples collected during Games-time will be stored for up to ten years and can be re-analysed if indicated or through the systematic re-analysis programs that have been implemented for all editions of the Olympic Games. In addition, the ITA has set up a Centralised Long-Term Storage Facility where organisations participating in the Tokyo 2020 pre-Games program can store samples that were collected in the lead-up to the Games for free. Please read more about this project here.

In order to deliver a robust anti-doping program for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the ITA is collaborating with various organisations. Here is a summary of the roles and responsibilities of each one of them:

The International Testing Agency (ITA)

The ITA is the organisation independently leading the anti-doping program for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It defines the testing strategy and oversees all anti-doping operations for the event.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The IOC as the Major Event Organiser for the Olympic Games is the Signatory under the World Anti-Doping Code. The ITA is managing the anti-doping program for Tokyo 2020 on behalf of the IOC.

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee (Tokyo 2020)

Tokyo 2020 is the operational partner of the ITA on the ground. It is responsible for the management of the anti-doping workforce: Doping Control Officers (DCOs), Blood Control Officers (BCOs), Chaperones, drivers, etc.

The Tokyo Anti-Doping Laboratory

The WADA-accredited Tokyo Anti-Doping Laboratory will analyse all the samples collected during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

WADA, as the global anti-doping regulator, will send a team of independent observers to oversee the anti-doping operations for Tokyo 2020 and ensure that the ITA’s program complies with the World Anti-Doping Code and its connected International Standards.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD)

The CAS ADD is in charge of adjudicating cases referred by the ITA in case of violations of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules. Please find below more information on the legal process in case any rule violations occur.

Other partners

The ITA is also collaborating with the Japanese Anti-Doping Agency (JADA), whose DCOs and BCOs will make up about half of the doping control personnel. The ITA has also signed collaboration agreements with the Japanese authorities in order to facilitate information exchange on potential doping offences.

The ITA plans on collecting approximately 5’000 urine and blood samples during the Games-time period.

All the samples collected by the ITA in Japan will be analysed by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Tokyo.

The ITA will be present with 24 staff on-site representing all necessary functions to operate the Tokyo 2020 anti-doping program, including our legal specialists for the processing of any anti-doping rule violations that might occur. The ITA did not experience any accreditation cuts, the team size is as planned before the postponement of the Games.

The ITA (on behalf of the IOC) is responsible for the results management and subsequent prosecution of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV) committed by any athlete, athlete support personnel or other person entered to participate in the Tokyo Games, under the jurisdiction of the IOC and as per the IOC Anti-Doping Rules.

Accordingly, any ADRV (eg. presence/ use of a prohibited substance tampering, refusing sample collection etc.) will be duly processed by the ITA legal affairs department and brought before the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) as applicable.

The ITA will publish all anti-doping rule violations following the decision and publication by CAS ADD on this website (link will follow soon).

The Anti-Doping Rules for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be found here.

The Arbitration Rules applicable to the CAS Anti-Doping Division for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be found here.

The Doping Control Personnel and volunteers acting as Chaperones are under the responsibility of the Organising Committee for Tokyo 2020, with whom we work closely regarding the implementation of the ITA-designed anti-doping program.

Approximately half of the Doping Control Officers (DCOs) that were selected and trained for their mission in Tokyo, are from the Japanese Anti-Doping Agency (JADA), the other half are international DCOs.

The anti-doping personnel implementing ITA’s Tokyo 2020 anti-doping program consists of 250 Doping Control Officers (more than half of whom belong to the Japanese Anti-Doping Agency, JADA) and half are international and 700 Chaperones.

The foundations of the testing program in Tokyo are based upon a physiological/pharmacological risk assessment carried out by the ITA across all sports/disciplines. The risk assessment also takes into account data such as participating countries, risks and history of doping in these countries, testing statistics in these countries as well as intelligence received, and other factors. This risk assessment is a very fine-tuned instrument that the ITA has developed and serves as an indicator to target high-risk sports and countries that we will indeed focus our attention on.

A recent report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the global anti-doping regulatory body, states that “the number of samples collected by Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) around the world is quickly returning to normal despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The latest testing figures […] reveal that in March 2021, 22,649 samples were collected by 145 ADOs, the highest number of samples recorded since the pandemic started in March 2020.

While sample numbers were considerably down in the early months of the pandemic, especially from March to June 2020, testing increased steadily after that. In fact, the level of out-of-competition samples in the first three months of 2021 is higher than 2019 levels for the same period.”

The same development was experienced by the ITA for the International Federations whose programs it leads throughout the year. This means that the anti-doping system is not majorly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in these important few months leading up to the Games, even though the in-competition testing levels remain lower as events are not yet back to pre-pandemic levels.

While testing is important, the anti-doping community is using other tools that are available to it in the period leading up to the Games, namely the Athlete Biological Passport, long-term sample storage, intelligence and investigations and, of course, prevention and education that is intended to prevent doping from ever happening in the first place.

The doping controls will be conducted in full respect of the appropriate safety and hygiene measures as described in the relevant IOC playbook and in strict compliance with all regulations enacted by the Japanese health authorities to protect both athletes and the anti-doping workforce. All doping controls (in- and out-of-competition) will remain unannounced and the ITA plans to implement the original test distribution plan as far as circumstances allow.