Posted: February 9, 2005

Athletics: Track & Field Most Tested Sport By USADA In 2004

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

More than one-fifth of all doping tests performed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2004 were conducted on track and field athletes, according to annual figures released by the agency today.

Of the 69 Olympic, Paralympic and Pan American sports under USADA’s jurisdiction, track and field was by far the most scrutinized by the agency, accounting for 1,618 of the 7,630 domestic tests conducted, or 21.1 percent. Swimming was next with 706 tests, while cycling was the third most tested sport, with 526 tests conducted.

Out-of-Competition (OOC) testing, typically occuring at the athlete’s home or training facility with little or no advance notice, comprised approximately 58 percent (4,447) of domestic tests.

“We reached our goal of increasing the number of out-of-competition tests in 2004,” said USADA Chief Executive Officer Terry Madden in a press statement. “More than 90 percent of U.S. athletes consistently provide their whereabouts information to USADA to ensure that OOC tests are carried out. We view this as a strong commitment by U.S. athletes to clean sport.”

In total, USADA performed 8,051 doping controls, including 421 tests on U.S. and non-U.S. athletes in the United States on behalf of other anti-doping organizations, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and international federations. Additionally, 79 tests were executed in 2004 on U.S. athletes by international agencies at USADA’s request.

39 percent of all domestic tests last year took place during the second quarter, in advance of the Olympic Games in Athens. The 2,956 tests performed during the months of April, May and June were the most in a single quarter in the agency’s four-year history.

In all, 41 anti-doping violations were announced, including three non-analytical positives, all in track and field, three test refusals and one failure by an athlete to appear for a test.

At its fall Council meeting in November, the IAAF announced that it carried out 2465 doping controls in 2004 as of that month, 975 in-competition, and 1490 out-of-competition, in conjunction with WADA and IDTM. At August's world championships in Helsinki, about one in four athletes will be tested.

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