With less than five months to go until the start of the thirty-third Olympic Games of the modern era in Paris, the WADA and the International Testing Agency (ITA) provide an overview of how the two organisations are working with anti-doping organisations around the world to ensure that all potential Paris participants are properly prepared in advance of competition.

A specific update has also been provided on the testing of Russian athletes who may participate in the Games as neutrals. The anti-doping programme for the Paris Olympic Games is managed by the ITA on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including the coordination of testing activities during the important pre-Games period.

Launched in October 2023, the ITA's Pre-Games Programme supports anti-doping efforts around the world in advance of Paris 2024 to ensure that athletes are subject to a robust and proportionate testing regime.

The ITA has established a Paris 2024 Pre-Games Expert Group to support this work by addressing potential gaps and providing testing recommendations to all relevant Anti-Doping Organisations (ADOs) worldwide, in particular National and Regional Anti-Doping Organisations and International Federations. The work of this ITA-led group is underway with the full support of WADA.

The Group, made up of experts from various disciplines, sports and regions, was established by the ITA to guide this work. It will provide recommendations to Anti-Doping Organizations in preparation for the major event to assist them with strategic testing guidance. For the first time, the ITA has also appointed a Supervisory Panel to support and oversee the work and independent focus of the Expert Group, ensuring broad representation to help strengthen anti-doping measures in this pre-Games period.

WADA, meanwhile, has an observer position on this Supervisory Panel and encourages the Anti-Doping Organizations as a priority to fully implement all recommendations, which are based on the same principles as the International Standard for Testing and Investigations and the World Anti-Doping Code.

"WADA is pleased to be working with the International Testing Agency ahead of Paris 2024. The global anti-doping programme is getting stronger every year, and part of this success is due to the strong cooperation we have built with key stakeholders, such as the ITA through its pre-Games initiatives for major events," said WADA President Witold Banka.

"It is important for the system as a whole that these recommendations are fully implemented, and WADA will be monitoring this closely. It is essential that anti-doping organisations to communicate with all relevant laboratories to prioritise the analysis of samples from athletes likely to participate in the Games so that the results can be acted upon appropriately and, where possible, prior to the athlete's participation in the Games," concluded the Polish head of WADA.

Valérie Fourneyron, President of the ITA Foundation, stressed: "Preparing for the 2024 Olympic Games is currently the top priority for the ITA. We have been working for years to plan and implement the anti-doping programme for Paris 2024, with the ultimate goal of providing the best possible, impartial and expert system of clean sport for participating athletes".

She also emphasised: "In the lead up to the Games, we strongly support the need for a consistent and harmonised approach across the clean sport community and are providing clear and strategic support through the recommendations of the Pre-Games Expert Group. The support and cooperation we receive from WADA and other stakeholders is critical to the overall success of the programme.

While Testing is an important part of the Pre-Games Programme, it is not the whole story. Part of the preparation is the education of athletes and those around them. This is an area in which WADA, in cooperation with the IOC and ITA, has taken the lead. Last September, WADA launched a new training course for athletes and coaches planning to participate in the Paris 2024 Games.

Since then, 3,299 athletes and coaches have completed the course. ITA has published a special Paris 2024 Education Guide for National Olympic Committees and is organising a special webinar on Testing at the Games to help prepare athletes.

Russian Athletes who may be eligible to participate in the Games as a Neutral will also continue to be subject to appropriate in-competition and out-of-competition testing. The country's elite athletes will be included in the Registered Testing Pool of their NADO or International Federation. Between 1 January 2023 and 27 February 2024, RUSADA collected 12,873 samples from Russian athletes in Russia and sent them to WADA-accredited laboratories outside Russia for analysis.

In addition, since the beginning of 2023, the ITA and International Federations have collected 1,232 samples in Russia, focusing on internationally competing athletes who are actively competing or are scheduled to compete in high-level events such as the Olympic Games. During the same period, Russian athletes training or competing outside their country have also been tested by international authorities. Test information is recorded in the ADAMS database and samples are tracked through the Athlete Biological Passport programme.

"The ITA is not only responsible for the Olympic Anti-Doping Programme, but also for more than 80% of Olympic summer sports, which makes it easier to track athletes throughout the season leading up to the Olympic Games," said ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen.

Regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes, he clarified: "Our intelligence-led testing programmes are based on a comprehensive assessment of all the risks involved, resulting in testing that is proportionate to those risks. This applies, of course, to athletes from Russia and Belarus, who we test through independent Sample Collection Personnel, but also to athletes from any other nation or sport that we consider to be at higher risk for various reasons. The goal is to focus our attention where necessary with an impartial approach based on science, research, available data and proven strategic initiatives.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency remains non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. The two-year period covered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) 2020 decision expires at the end of 2022. WADA is monitoring RUSADA's compliance with the reinstatement conditions set forth in the CAS decision.

Separately, a new critical non-compliance has been identified related to inconsistencies between Russian federal sports legislation and the Code. At its meeting on 22 September 2023, the WADA Executive Committee accepted the Independent Compliance Review Committee's recommendation to impose new consequences and reinstatement conditions on RUSADA. As announced on 17 November 2023, RUSADA did not accept this decision and the matter is now pending before CAS.