Report of the Independent Observers for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

As WADA has done for a number of Major Events since 2000, the Agency sent IO Teams to the various Beijing 2022 venues to monitor the Olympic anti-doping program. The aim of the IO program is to reinforce confidence in athletes and the public as to the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of the anti-doping programs conducted.

WADA’s IO Team for the Olympic Games in Beijing was comprised of recognised anti-doping experts, including WADA staff and other Anti-Doping Organizations’ specialists. The Team worked in collaboration with the International Testing Agency (ITA) that operated the Games’ anti-doping program on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ITA was supported by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (Beijing 2022) and the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA). This cooperative approach was designed to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of the program in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards.

During the Games, IO Team members visited various event venues on a daily basis to observe how elements of the anti-doping program were being implemented. The Team would then meet to review their reports and identify any issues or potential improvement points. In particular, the IO Team focused its observations on:

• Test distribution planning and implementation;
• Recruitment and training of sample collection personnel;
• Athlete selection, notification and sample collection procedures;
• Transport and chain of custody of samples;
• Sample analysis at the laboratory;
• Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) procedures; and
• Results management processes.