Record numbers of UK Anti-Doping whistleblowers come forward
Whistleblower numbers for suspected sports doping are at a record high in the United Kingdom, according to UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).
According to its intelligence and investigations team, UKAD states that there were 211 reports of suspected doping misconduct across 30 sports in 2024.
That represented an almost three-fold increase since 2020, when the service was launched, with just 75 flagged cases in 2021.
UKAD’s head of intelligence and investigations Mario Theophanous said: “It’s important to UKAD that athletes and the sporting community feel safe talking to us, and that we normalise the reporting of doping in sport.
“One of the main reasons that we release these reporting numbers is to show individuals who are unsure or uncertain about reporting that you’re not alone – there are others like you who want to protect the integrity of their sport.”
It comes amid a global spat surrounding anti-doping, and the funding of relevant bodies, with the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) backing a US government decision to withhold millions to global organisation World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Doping in Tokyo?
It relates to a dispute over a group of 23 Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 despite positive tests for the banned substance trimetazidine.
There are further concerns surrounding the ability to ensure clean sport when key players in funding Wada withdraw their backing.
UKAD has launched an anonymous WhatsApp service for those who want to call out suspected doping behaviour.
Theophanous added: “The service allows our investigators to reply to the person reporting in real time, gathering the necessary evidence we need to conduct our investigations.
“We hope to encourage other individuals who may have information but fear reporting it, to take the decisive action and raise their concerns to ‘Protect Your Sport’ anonymously.”
UKAD’s most recent report, from December and covering July – and the Olympics – to September 2024, shows that it carried out 2,206 anti-doping tests, with the most samples being taken from football, rugby, cricket, athletics and boxing.
Hamish Coffey, UK Anti-Doping’s director of operations, said at the time: “UKAD is proud to have completed a comprehensive pre-Games testing programme for Paris 2024, which commenced over a year before the Games.
“Twenty-three UKAD Doping Control Personnel and three members of our Testing Team also worked at Paris to support the Games-time Testing Programme.”