The World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) has published its 2019 Anti-Doping Testing Figures Report.
This report, which typically comes out this time of year for the year prior, includes 355 pages of data about the year in anti-doping testing by entities under the WADA umbrella.
In aquatics, specifically, 17,191 total samples were analyzed in 2019, resulting in 79 Adverse Analytical Findings, which typically refers to a positive test. The % AAF rate of .5% mid-pack among Summer Olympic sports reported by WADA; the 17,191 tests are fourth-most to only football/soccer (40,233), athletics (34,576), and cycling (24,577).
AAF Percentages, low to high, ASOIF (Summer Olympic International Federations)
- Modern Pentathlon – 0%
- Table Tennis – 0%
- Badminton – .2%
- Field Hockey – .3%
- Football – .3%
- Sailing – .4%
- Tennis – .4%
- Handball – .4%
- Tennis – .4%
- Aquatics – .5%
- Gymnastics – .5%
- Volleyball – .5%
- Archery – .6%
- Basketball – .6%
- Canoe/Kayak – .6%
- Taekwondo – .6%
- Athletics – .7%
- Triathlon – .7%
- Fencing – .8%
- Golf – .8%
- Judo – .9%
- Rowing – .9%
- Shooting – .9%
- Rugby – 1.0%
- Cycling – 1.0%
- Boxing – 1.3%
- Wrestling – 1.3%
- Weightlifting – 1.5%
- Equestrian – 1.8%
- All Sports Average – .71%
Among the 79 positive tests in aquatic sports, 65 came from pool swimming, 6 came from water polo, 3 came from diving, 1 from open water swimming, 3 from artistic swimming, and 1 was categorized generally as “aquatics.”
As compared to 2018, the number of tests was up in aquatics (from 14,480), though the AAF percentage was the same, rounded to half-a-percentage point.
There was 1 AAF in aquatics for athletes with disabilities reported, 1 positive test in university sports.
The report goes into significant detail about the nature of positive tests and which laboratories found those tests.
Among the highlights:
- A 5.5% increase in the overall number of samples analyzed: 263,519 in 2018 to 278,047 in 2019.
- A slight decrease in the total percentage of Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs): 1.05% in 2018 (2,774 AAFs from 263,519 samples) to 0.97% in 2019 (2,702 AAFs from 278,047 samples).
- About 60% of WADA-accredited Laboratories saw an increase in the total number of samples recorded.
- An almost similar total number and percentage of non-Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) blood samples analyzed: 9.3% in 2018 (24,495 of 263,519) and 9.1% in 2019 (25,339 of 278,047).
- An increase of 16% in the number of ABP blood samples tested: 31,265 in 2018 to 36,401 in 2019.
- An increase in AAFs reported for Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (ESAs), Growth Hormone (GH) and Growth Hormone Releasing Factors (GHRFs).
There was a change in reporting this year, as information from World Anti-Doping Code non-Signatory data from North America, which led to a change in the way data was reported. So, the total 2018 numbers listed above, and in the 2019 report, don’t match what was originally listed in 2018, but are an apples-to-apples comparison.
Removing the data from those non-Signatory data, which is not reported into the global ADAMS reporting system, primarily removes information largely from professional leagues and university testing (NCAA). The removal of the latter data could impact some subsets of aquatic testing, but wouldn’t directly impact the primary ASOIF data reported above.
Among the highest-profile AAFs in aquatics in 2019 include Peru’s Mauricio Fiol, who failed 2 doping tests days short of returning from a previous four-year suspensions. The data above does not include cases like that of US National Teamer Will Licon, who was given a warning for failing to secure a TUE for an asthma inhaler he was taking.
According to USADA, Licon never tested positive but was instead sanctioned after declaring his use of the inhaler. Because there was no AAF, that case doesn’t appear in the above data.