Doping Control Manual part 2

The blood sample collection procedures were not described and considering that

these Games represented the first in the history of the Pan American Games

where blood samples were collected and that the majority of the athletes were

not familiar with the procedures, it would have been most useful to have a

detailed section dedicated to blood sample collection procedures in the Manual

and a leaflet to inform the athletes about the procedures;



The preventive measures put in place to prevent the use of proteases to

manipulate urine samples collected for EPO detection were not described, namely

the need for athletes to wash their hands before the collection of the urine

sample;



The responsibility of the athlete to provide information about any

prescription/non-prescription medications or supplements that he or she has

taken recently and the right to note comments and concerns regarding the

conduct of the doping control session on the Doping Control Form were not

described;



The manual does not include any information regarding conformity with the

Article 5.4.1 g) of the International Standard for Testing (IST) – “

That should the

Athlete choose to consume food or fluids prior to providing a Sample, he/she

does so at his/her own risk, and should in any event avoid excessive rehydration,

having in mind the requirement to produce a Sample with a Suitable Specific

Gravity for Analysis

.”



The Article 12.3 of the Doping Control Manual described the procedure to use

when urine samples did not meet the requirement for suitable specific gravity for

analysis, in compliance with the IST, that the DCO should continue to collect

additional

Samples until the requirement for suitable specific gravity for analysis

is met (1.005 or higher), or until the DCO determines that there are exceptional

circumstances which mean that for logistical reasons it is impossible to continue

with the

Sample Collection Session. Such exceptional circumstances shall be

documented accordingly by the DCO. Meanwhile, the Article 12.6 of the same

Doping Control Manual defined that only one more sample must be collected if

the first one did not met the requirement and if the laboratory inform that none

of the two samples eventually met the requirement and that fact is not due to

natural causes the athlete must be submitted to another doping control as soon

as possible. There is a clear contradiction between Articles 12.3 and 12.6.

With reference to this last discrepancy, the PASO MC said that they informed the DCOs

that only one more sample must be collected, to avoid long delays in the doping control

procedures, and the MC must be informed of such situations in order to plan the

collection of another sample from the athlete as soon as possible. The PASO MC cannot

create a rule to replace a requirement of IST that where only exceptional circumstances

are acceptable for not following the requirement. This means that for logistical reasons it

is impossible to continue with the

Sample Collection Session, decided case by case by

the DCO. The IO Team saw an unusual number of very dilute samples (1.000 or 1.001)

collected during in competition tests where a second doping control was not intended in

the next day.

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