SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Doping - UK anti-doping agency plans 50 percent more tests to 2022

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's anti-doping agency (UKAD) said on Tuesday it was aiming for a 50 percent increase in publicly-funded testing over the next four years.

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Skip to article content

Presenting a strategic plan for 2018-22, UK Anti-Doping chair Trevor Pearce said the challenges were "as acute as they have ever been" but extra government cash would allow more to be done.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch announced last January that UKAD would receive an extra six million pounds ($8.59 million) over the next two years.

"The additional funding... has enabled us to be more bold and ambitious in our planning, expanding our investment into new and innovative approaches," said Pearce.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

The next four year period covers the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the run-up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

UKAD said it had completed more tests than ever in 2017-18, with a 12 percent increase on the previous year.

"We also want to renew our approach to encourage and enable people to come forward with their suspicions and information about doping activity," UKAD said in the plan.

"As we have seen in an international context this can be a game changer."

Whistleblower Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee of the Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, helped expose massive doping problems in Russia in 2014 with his athlete wife Yulia Stepanova.

UKAD said nearly half of all anti-doping rule violations in the last two years had originated from intelligence reports.

The body said it also wanted to increase the number of investigations into people who work with athletes.

($1 = 0.6985 pounds)

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world