AIU Chair David Howman detailed the highlights of the AIU’s Test Distribution Plan. The wide range of tests and analyses include up to 600 pre-competition tests (for profiling purposes mainly) in the period 14-24 August at the athletes’ hotels as well as up to 550 in-competition tests (mainly detection tests) at the stadium.
"This is one of the biggest and most intensive anti-doping programmes outside of the Olympic Games,” he noted.
The testing operation has commenced few days prior to the event for those who have confirmed their accommodations. These targeted tests are not placement-oriented, rather they form a part of the World Athletics’ Biological Passport Programme.
Dr. Ágnes Tiszeker on the testing plan: „We will take hundreds of blood samples, but beyond the quantity a professional interest lies in the diverse array of samples and analyses. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) remains at the forefront of experimental inquiries and scientific research advancement. Our involvement at the World Championships in Budapest is a collaborative endeavor: a tripartite project involving WA-AIU-WADA, concentrating on the innovative Dried Blood Spot (DBS) technique. Moreover, we are engaged in a pioneering partnership between WA-AIU and USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency), undertaking a pilot programme dedicated to the analysis of new biological parameters”.
Another key component of the testing mission at Budapest 23 is the continuation of a pilot study, initiated last year in collaboration with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which has been exploring a new and less invasive method for collecting blood samples from athletes for anti-doping profiling purposes. Athletes selected for doping control in Budapest will be asked to contribute to the study by providing an additional sample using the new device. The results will be compared with the routine samples.