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IOC's Doyen Richard Pound wants the strengthening of Anti-doping Regulations

The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) doyen, Richard William Duncan Pound, has called for change of the "whereabouts requirement" for out-of-competition drug testing.

By Abhiruchi Rout | Dec 26, 2022 | 2 Min Read

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) doyen, Richard William Duncan Pound, has called for change of the “whereabouts requirement” for out-of-competition drug testing, stating that a game is now being played with regard to missed tests. The former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) who is also a Canadian believed that there are specific situations when the current procedure should be sped up.

Pound served as the head of WADA from 1999 to 2007, a crucial period in the organization’s development because of his status as a prominent role in the Olympic community. This, along with his later work on the Russian doping scandal, guarantees that his opinions on the broader subject of performance enhancement remain influential. Pound was also questioned if he thought the usage of illegal drugs in sports was on the decline. The 80-year-tenure old’s as a full member of the IOC is set to end at the end of this year.

“There is a game being played with respect to missed tests. The whereabouts requirement is a necessary element for any robust out-of-competition testing program. When a test is missed, there is currently an elaborate process of notification that takes far too much time. Quite often, an athlete may well be where he/she promised to be, but may not wish to be tested (presumably out of concern that a sample provided on that occasion might well be positive) and deliberately does not answer the door”, he said to Insidethegames.

He further added, “The WADA director general (or some other designated official) should be able – where such conduct may reasonably be suspected as deliberate (for example the doping control officer may know perfectly well that the athlete is there, but is not responding) to authorize short-circuiting the process. If, on Day 1, it is suspected that such conduct is deliberate, the official should be able to obtain permission to test on Day 2 and if that test is missed, to test on Day 3. Three missed tests are deemed to be the equivalent of a positive test. Appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) are, of course, available.”