Competitive sport has largely come to a standstill worldwide as a result of the coronavirus-related measures. Other European countries more severely affected by the virus, such as Spain, Italy and France, imposed curfews, in some cases lasting several weeks, which severely restricted the training of amateur and professional athletes.
Also affected by the restrictions: The global doping control system. According to research by ARD journalist Hajo Seppelt, testing has been suspended in numerous countries. According to Seppelt, there is also hardly any activity at the headquarters of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal. The usual standardised urine and blood tests are currently almost impossible. Just recently, German champion Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe) stated that he had not been tested since mid-March.
Corona crisis: opportunity for dopers?
Is the crisis situation a free pass for dopers? Professor Mario Thevis from the doping control laboratory in Cologne at least has serious concerns. He told ARD: "The athletes who are doping now will only be caught afterwards with great effort. The prerequisite for making up for lost time in the anti-doping fight would be a majority of more extensive blood and urine tests. According to Thevis, a single sample from an athlete after a period of several weeks without tests has only limited significance.
What are the benefits of doping during the coronavirus crisis?
There are now a number of studies that hold out the prospect of a long-term effect even with short-term doping. This means that even if you only dope in doses and over a short period of time during the corona period, you may well benefit from an increase in performance in a competition several months later.
"If I were to take Epo for one or two months or growth hormones or any anabolic steroids - of course they have an effect on the body, even in competition after two months." (Ex-pro Jörg Jaksche in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk. Jaksche was a key witness in the 2006 doping scandal surrounding the Spanish doctor Fuentes).
Without guidelines and support from WADA, many national anti-doping agencies feel left in the lurch. Back in March, Germany's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) developed a blood drop test that could be carried out via video chat without the tester being present. Numerous athletes from the German Olympic squad are taking part in the pilot project of the so-called Dried Blood Spot (DBS) test.
With the resumption of match operations in the first and second Bundesliga football leagues, NADA also carried out the first competition controls again, in compliance with the safety distance. It remains to be seen when the usual level of testing will be resumed in other sports.
