Anti-doping Solutions for Ultrarunning Part 1-USADA and Dr. Fedoruk (2021) #197
Episode overview:
Dr. Fedoruk is the Chief Science Officer for USADA. In this episode we discuss the landscape of antidoping solutions and what USADA does to combat doping within the sports they have jurisdiction over.
Episode highlights:
(32:48) Global anti-doping structure: USADA is one of over 100 signatories of the World Anti-Doping Agency, protecting the independence of the anti-doping framework, application to professional sport, examples
(45:40) Therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs): why TUEs exist, medical prescriptions, ADHD example, independent specialists examine blinded samples to confirm diagnoses are legitimate
(56:14) Contamination: supplements, increasingly precise tests pick up on contaminated medication, examples of contamination from pharmaceutical manufacturers and restaurants, solutions, minimal reporting limits, aligning technology and policy, examples
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: new podcast equipment, re-release of KoopCast 81, check out episodes 81-85 for the full series on antidoping
(2:34) Introduction (2021): the start of a series on antidoping, gathering perspectives from multiple fields to brainstorm solutions, the rapid rise of ultramarathon running and staying ahead of doping
(5:28) Outline and goals of the antidoping series: KoopCast episodes 81-85, bringing the community together to create antidoping solutions
(8:06) Backlash about doping: public criticism, leaving the sport better than we found it, setup
(9:51) The Lance Armstrong controversy: setup, starting as an intern with Carmichael Training Systems (CTS), Chris Carmichael and Lance Armstrong
(13:22) CTS in 2000: connections to elite coaches, learning to coach and working up the ladder to managing the CTS team of ultramarathon coaches
(15:16) Lance’s rise and fall: overview, questions about doping, no relationship with Lance, Koop’s involvement with other coaches and mentors at CTS
(18:01) Uninvolvement in the Lance scandal: ultrarunning can learning from cycling’s mistakes, the cliche of denying doping involvement, check out USADA documentation on Lance doping, public critiques, you can have your own opinion but not your own facts, transparency
(22:34) Setup: giving thanks to guests, having hard conversations, introducing Dr. Fedoruk
(23:26) Dry blood spot tests: started in 2017, now ready to be used as anti-doping method, overview of the testing process, finger pricks and cartridges
(26:00) Development and future of dry blood spot tests: excitement from athletes, new collection procedures, stability of samples, the future of dry blood spot testing
(28:18) Anti-doping tools at USADA: banter, more than glorified pee collectors, anti-doping education, the twelve different types of doping violations
(31:21) Endurance regulation at USADA: no framework for ultramarathon running, discussing regulation in cycling, triathlon, and track and field
(32:48) Global anti-doping structure: USADA is one of over 100 signatories of the World Anti-Doping Agency, protecting the independence of the anti-doping framework, application to professional sport, examples
(35:38) Global standards: substances, laboratory procedures, therapeutic use exceptions (TEUs), performance management, removing inequity in the system
(37:05) Antidoping test process: no notice out of competition tests, sample collection, A and B bottles to confirm sample analysis, anonymization of lab samples
(39:11) How labs know what tests to run: substances can be prohibited at all times, prohibited in competition, prohibited in specific sport, testing for specific substance menus, special analyses, examples
(41:37) Context for special analyses: EPO example, risk assessment, athlete biological passports, checking for variability in athlete samples
(43:53) Data confidentiality: USADA knows athlete identities but labs are blinded, anonymous athlete passports to avoid bias
(45:40) Therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs): why TUEs exist, medical prescriptions, ADHD example, independent specialists examine blinded samples to confirm diagnoses are legitimate
(48:30) Criticism of TUEs: where criticism comes from, the TUE evaluation process, all athletes are treated equally, criticism comes from lack of understanding of the process, problems with race directors investigating TUEs
(50:55) Dealing with adverse findings: review of testing data, internal investigation, collecting additional samples, athletes can have their B sample analyzed, transparency
(53:18) Confidentiality of testing: recap of testing process, until the sanction no information is revealed to the public, the right to challenge
(54:44) False positives: high standards, internal quality assessment, laboratories are penalized, suspended, or their accreditation is revoked for misreporting samples, scientific versus colloquial use of “false positive”
(56:14) Contamination: supplements, increasingly precise tests pick up on contaminated medication, examples of contamination from pharmaceutical manufacturers and restaurants, solutions, minimal reporting limits, aligning technology and policy, examples
(1:00:01) Positive tests from contamination: example, confidential process, legal counsel for athletes, working with the athlete to find the contaminated source
(1:02:01) Compliance and challenging sanctions: arbitration, appeal to international arbitrators, athletes pay for their own legal bills, legal aid, arbitrators can reallocate legal fees between USADA and the athlete
(1:04:41) Types of sanctions: original default sanction of 2 years, changes based on severity, specified and non specified substances, examples, scalable sanctions
(1:06:40) The deterrence philosophy: sanction severity is based on deterrence, reasons for adjusting sanctions, examples, global checks on sanction severity
(1:10:11) The process of scaling sanctions: EPO example, EPO benefits last more than 4 years, arbitrators resolve disputes to comfortable satisfaction
(1:12:04) The burden of proof: situation-dependent, Dr. Fedoruk’s job is to investigate the scientific validity of athlete excuses, intimate contact cases, absurd athlete excuses
(1:15:30) Doping for ultrarunning: stakeholders, advisory for the community, the four components of education, testing, science, and results management, harmonized rulesets, education before testing, in and out of competition programs
(1:18:48) Reasons for the four basic components: examples, cost concerns, an imperfect solution in all categories is better than a perfect solution in some, avoiding exploitation
(1:21:13) Wrap-up: a year in the making, where to become educated on anti-doping, resources in the show notes, giving thanks, impact of USADA
(1:23:11) Outro: next episodes in the anti-doping series, creating conversation around anti-doping, action is up to the community, the importance of anti-doping education
Additional resources:
https://www.globaldro.com/Home
USADA Athlete resources- https://www.usada.org/resources/
USADA Reasoned Decision-
https://www.usada.org/athletes/results/u-s-postal-service-pro-cycling-team-investigation/
Information on coaching-
Koop’s Social Media
Twitter/Instagram- @jasonkoop