Anti-doping measures for events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games are strategic and comprehensive, involving significant collaboration across borders and between multiple organisations. 

With the Games now in full swing, we share the details of what’s involved in a large-scale anti-doping operation and how we supported New Zealand athletes in the run up to Paris 2024. 

The anti-doping strategy for the Games begins long before the opening ceremony, with the International Testing Agency managing Olympic testing and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) overseeing Paralympic testing. Each body implements a Pre-Games programme, collaborating with international federations and national anti-doping agencies to develop targeted testing plans for athletes likely to compete. 

Ryan Morrow, Science Manager at the Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui, was one of seven reviewers on the IPC’s Pre-Games Task Force. Their role was to assess athletes likely to take part in the Games and provide testing recommendations for the IPC. Ryan estimates that he assessed and made recommendations for over 2,400 potential Paralympians from across the globe. 

“Each athlete was reviewed by three Task Force members. We evaluated each one on a range of factors, including performance, recent testing, sport discipline and whether they were included on international testing pools, making them likely to be tested by elsewhere. When two recommendations for an athlete matched, they were shared with anti-doping organisations for action.” 

Ryan’s involvement doesn’t end there. He is also part of a special unit that manages the Athlete Biological Passport. The Passport monitors an athlete’s biomarkers and can reveal the effects of doping over time, rather than just testing for the presence of a substance.  

During the Games, this monitoring happens in real-time. Anti-doping tests are processed quickly, allowing for the prompt detection of anything suspicious. For Ryan, this means receiving test results, evaluating them, and sharing recommendations with the International Testing Agency or International Paralympic Committee on the same day. 

“It’s happening live,” Ryan says, “An athlete might compete one day, I’ll review their test results often just a day or so later, then submit my recommendations on the same day. If I’ve recommended any actions, then they’re likely to take place right away. It’s fascinating work delivered at incredible pace.” 

So, what does this mean for New Zealand athletes? 

We started our pre-Games testing with New Zealand’s Olympic long list, which this year featured over 900 athletes. With such a large pool of athletes in the mix, we implemented a testing programme with enough depth and breadth to ensure that any athlete believed they could be tested at any time. We worked closely with individual sports, the ITA, international federations and other anti-doping organisations to identify and test the athletes most likely to attend the Games - with significant input from experts like Ryan in the International Testing Agency’s Pre-Games Expert Group and IPC Task Force. 

Our athletes also headed the Games armed with high levels of anti-doping education. In fact, 95% of the New Zealand Team made use of our e-learning, workshops and resources in their Paris preparations. 

Anti-doping work for major events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games is necessarily robust. It includes extensive pre-Games strategy and testing, real-time in-Games monitoring, and comprehensive educational support. And once the final medal has been won and the last athletes leave the Olympic Village, anti-doping continues. Each sample taken at the Games will be transported for storage in a secure facility managed by the ITA. Those samples will be available for reanalysis until 2034 in one of anti-doping's most impactful strategies for protecting athletes, deterring doping and pursuing the shared goal of safe and fair competition for athletes everywhere.