Russia, India and China are the countries that reported the highest number of positive cases among minors, according to a report prepared by World Anti-Doping Agency (AMA), stating that since 2012 there have been notices 1,518 are positive of this group and that the youngest athlete is allowed for it 12 years.
The AMA on Wednesday published the conclusions of the “Operation Refuge“, a comprehensive analysis and analysis of doping in minors in sports, prepared by the investigative intelligence department of the agency.
He said he received 58 reports about cases involving minors on its anonymous reporting platform between 2018 and 2023, and explained that in September 2022 it sent a questionnaire to 41 anti-doping organizations to collect information.
27 of these (66%) sent complete documentation to the AMA and, accordingly, one in five (22%) responded that they had specific rules for managing minor resultsalthough only 8 have specific procedures for investigating these cases.
A third (33%) of those who conducted these investigations refers to parental “interference”. them by refusing to provide information or making false statements.
Among its conclusions, the report highlights that minors are subjected to more tests in competition and are twice as likely to discover doping in competition than outside it and that the sports register the most positive cases of these are weightlifting, athletics and water sports.
The most identified prohibited substances are stanozolol and methandienone (anabolic steroids) and methylphenidate (stimulating).
The countries reporting the highest number of positives are Russia, India and Chinaand the prohibited substances most identified among them are furosemide (diuretic), nandrolone or their precursors (anabolic) and clenbuterol (bronchodilator).
WADA reports that since 2012, 1,518 minor positives have been reported and the youngest athlete sanctioned for doping is 12 years old; in addition to highlighting that the report highlights the trauma and isolation that young athletes experience after a positive test and a penalty for doping.
The president of the AMA, the Pole Witold Bankahopes that the results of the investigation will generate a “strong sense of urgency within the anti-doping community about the ways in which young people who find themselves in these types of situations must be more protect in the future.”
“Regardless of the level of competition, sport must remain a safe space for children. Above all, more collaborative coordination across the anti-doping community is needed in the management of minors within the process. The report outlines actions that measure anti-doping organizations and governments should take to implement specific policies to combat child doping,” he added.
Source: La Verdad
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