A test station opens in the Yanqing competition zone of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on January 28 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

Sticking to a zero-tolerance policy, the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) have been working to protect both the athletes and honor of the competitions at the Beijing 2022 Games.

"The BOCOG is actively collaborating with the International Testing Agency (ITA), plus relevant ministries and commissions, to jointly crack down on doping violations through a mechanism for collecting and sharing doping-related information. This way, we strive to maintain a fair competition environment for the Beijing Winter Olympics," Ling Lin, head of BOCOG's anti-doping work, told Beijing Review.

Staff members hold a meeting at the National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing District, Beijing, on February 6 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

Preparing the grounds

There are 19 test stations at the venues, athlete villages and medal plazas across the three competition zones, namely downtown Beijing; Yanqing District in Beijing's northern suburbs; and Zhangjiakou, a city in Hebei Province neighboring Beijing.

The BOCOG's anti-doping preparations got underway in 2016. Before the Beijing 2022 Games, anti-doping efforts were completed during test events with 191 doping inspections completed and 168 mock exercises executed, according to Ling. Issues laid bare in the process were addressed.

A handbook was then compiled to both guarantee procedural standardization as well as specify targeted measures for various emergencies.

"The professionalism of the anti-doping staff, that is whether they can operate par rules and standards, is key to the successful completion of anti-doping work during the competition," Ling said. In 2020, more than 100 doping inspectors were selected and trained. Together with the existing domestic inspectors and 27 foreign senior doping inspectors, they form an inspection team for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Some of them already participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Doping control officers and volunteers are required to pass the full English live-action simulation work procedure assessment before they can take up their posts. The CHINADA arranged for some new recruits to participate in inspections of large-scale events, such as the National Games of China in September of last year, to accumulate experience.

In January, the Beijing 2022 organizers signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the ITA, the General Administration of Sport, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs and the CHINADA to cooperate in anti-doping investigation and intelligence.

"This agreement underlines the commitment of the partners involved to a fair Olympic Winter Games where doping has no place," said Dr. Valerie Fourneyron, Chair of the ITA Foundation Board. "It will ensure adequate communication channels and an efficient exchange of information should there be any suspicion of doping activity during Beijing 2022."

"We hope that all participants will take this MoC as a basis to strengthen cooperation and construct an effective mechanism of information sharing, so that we can jointly hold an Olympic Winter Games as pure and clean as ice and snow," said Zhang Jiandong, Executive Vice President of the BOCOG.

COVID-19 rules and regulations

"Due to the needs of pandemic prevention and control, various preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics face change and adjustment," Ling said, adding that to protect the health and safety of athletes and inspection staff, the doping inspection workflow has been attuned and optimized.

For example, to prevent the spread of the epidemic during the inspection process, all personnel are required to wear N95 and KN95 masks during the doping inspection process. Furthermore, inspectors must wear protective gear such as isolation gowns, protective face screens or goggles. Athletes will be provided with single-use gloves and hand sanitizer. While athletes await inspection, they are expected to avoid physical contact, uphold social distancing, and disinfect work stations and shared items before and after sample collection.

COVID-19 has posed many obstacles to the transportation of materials and inspection equipment, which has become difficult especially due to the Games' closed-loop management. Nonetheless, the anti-doping team prepared in advance, reserving spare working materials across all three competition areas.

"We also selected a pool of supplementary personnel to serve as backups to guarantee we always have sufficient staff," Ling said. These measures are guarantees for safe and clean Games.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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