— Published on April 28, 2025

Hair tests, contamination, genetic doping: WADA plays the pedagogy card

FOCUSInstitutions Focus

Widely criticized, particularly in the United States, in the Chinese swimmers affair, the World Anti-Doping Agency has again faced questions over its handling of the Jannik Sinner case. On February 15, WADA announced that it had concluded " a case settlement agreement " according to which the Italian tennis player would be suspended for three months. The timing and leniency of this sanction have raised questions since the world number 1 will not miss any Grand Slam tournaments. Olivier Rabin, WADA's director of science and medicine, spoke at length on RMC to address these doubts and assure the commitment of the agency on all fronts.

"WADA's role is not to sanction obsessively"

Did Jannik Sinner receive preferential treatment? The athlete was to be sanctioned under the rules of the World Anti-Doping Code, which was the case, underlines Olivier Rabin, engaged in an unusual talking exercise. The sanction was adjusted in light of the scientific and medical information that was available. (…) The situation he faced, with a reduction in the normative sanction, has been applied previously in several dozen cases and corresponds to a provision of the World Anti-Doping Code when the sanction is deemed too strict in light of the facts. " The player claimed accidental contamination from a massage spray. " WADA's role is not to obsessively sanction athletes. That's absolutely not the spirit in which we operate ", adds the expert, specifying that he was reviewing the facts" almost all the time completely anonymously" ».

He was then challenged by Jean-Claude Alvarez, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology, who relied on hair analyses to defend Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek. A technique which has " many advantages but also many disadvantages » according to Olivier Rabin: « We work with a number of specialists in the field of hair analysis. We must take into account certain restrictions in the interpretations of hair analysis if we want sufficient scientific rigor to analyze these doping cases as we do at WADA. When we find high concentrations, yes, we can have a certain amount of very useful information. Sometimes, finding nothing does not mean at all that nothing happened. This is where we must remain reasonable. Urine analyses are not perfect, nor are blood analyses, and, similarly, hair analyses can provide useful information, but not always. »

Gene doping, “a real threat”

Another topic on the table: the attention paid to exceptional performances, with the example cited of Tadej Pogacar in cycling. "Yes, outstanding performances always attract attention., assures Olivier Rabin. This doesn't necessarily mean that there is doping behind it. (…) We must also keep in mind, I would take the London Games as a reference, that we have the possibility of keeping samples for ten years and conducting retrospective analyses. We have fairly advanced methods today, but they are not sufficiently validated to apply them. In the coming years, we could very well use these methods on samples that are stored. »

He points out that WADA has recently ruled on various points that required clarification, such as the use of ketone bodies, which the agency does not ban, or tramadol, which it banned after conducting research. "WADA will likely include a specific carbon monoxide-related substance on the new list ", he specifies, while this practice is debated within the peloton. The agency is also vigilant with regard to genetic doping, " a real threat ", says Olivier Rabin. " You have people who, in their garage or kitchen, concoct adenoviruses and genetic sequences and inject them into just about anyone. And not just animals. I tend to think that the good old methods of using drugs or injections are still in use, but gene doping is a reality, or at least it's becoming a reality. "WADA is sending a clear message: it remains at the forefront, whatever observers say.