Would swimming be afraid of ending up in the same pool as athletics? There BBC reveals this Monday, February 15 that FINA, its international federation, has decided to tackle the problem of doping head on. Finally. Often accused of a certain laxity on this thorny issue, she is determined to increase the number of controls before the next Summer Games, in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. An initiative that could change the habits of the world's best swimmers.
The details remain to be refined. And the program has not yet been formally adopted by the FINA Council. But, according to the BBC, this vast cleanliness operation in the second Olympic sport could result in a record number of anti-doping tests, carried out on an equally record number of swimmers. Athletes in the top 10 in the world for each of the racing swimming disciplines would thus be checked 5 to 7 times between now and the opening of the Rio Games. Unprecedented in a sport where the incessant progress of world records, associated with the very small number of proven positive cases, has ended up casting a certain doubt on the integrity of performances.
At first reading, however, swimming does not seem to be lagging behind on the issue of the fight against doping. In 2015 alone, FINA conducted 1094 out-of-competition tests. They were carried out on 654 swimmers. Respectable. But its spending on the fight reaches “only” 730.000 euros, around a tenth of the sums allocated by the UCI to hunt down cheaters in cycling.
The project outlined by FINA is intended to be reliable and comprehensive. The controls will be carried out mainly by the national anti-doping agencies, supposedly independent organizations. The most advanced would be American. There BBC explains that the idea of this program was proposed to FINA by the American agency, USADA, and its director Travis Tygart, during a meeting organized last month in Lausanne. “Fina must be given credit for wanting to tackle the problem and answer the call of clean swimmers,” suggests the American. Such a program, carried out in different countries by an independent agency, should help guarantee the integrity of swimming and the rights of athletes. »
Without a doubt. Only problem: at least three countries would not be affected by FINA's plan for the Rio Games. Not the least since it concerns Russia, China and Brazil. Russia, in particular, presents a very damaged copy on the question of doping. Several of its swimmers were caught by the patrol in 2013 and 2014. FINA claims to have placed the Russian Swimming Federation in its sights, but without specifying what measures will be taken to conduct credible tests in a country where the national anti-doping agency (RUSADA) is currently in the process of reorganization. Not a foregone conclusion, then.
