Rio Doping Lab Wins Accreditation for Olympics

(ATR) Anti-doping tests for the 2016 Olympics will be done in Rio de Janeiro.

The World Anti-Doping Agency reinstated the accreditation for the Rio de Janeiro anti-doping lab today, lifting a provisional suspension imposed last month. Both WADA and the Brazilian Anti-Doping Control Agency (ABCD) confirmed the reinstatement.

On June 24 the laboratory was deemed to be non-compliant with International Standards for Laboratories by WADA, although Around the Rings learned that the non-compliance stemmed from a number of false positives reported by the laboratory.

Since the provisional suspension both the IOC and WADA visited the Rio lab working to reaccredit the facility, to prevent a second straight mega-event in Brazil from having to test samples abroad. The 2014 World Cup had to fly anti-doping samples to Lausanne, and Bloomberg reported earlier today that samples would be flown to Paris if the lab was not reaccredited.

"All parties worked diligently to resolve the identified issue so that the Laboratory could be up and running optimally for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games that start on 5 August," Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA, said in a statement. "Athletes can be confident that anti-doping sample analysis has been robust throughout the Laboratory’s suspension; and, that it will also be during the Games."

Another consequence of the suspension of the doping lab was the position of Marco Aurelio Klein in the ABCD. After the provisional suspension was confirmed, Klein, who had held the job since 2014, was replaced by Rogério Sampaio, an Olympic gold medalist in Judo at the 1992 Games.

The ABCD said in a statement that Brazilian Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani and ABCD national secretary Sampaio worked with the IOC and WADA during the audit process. The anti-doping agency said they "reinforce full confidence" in the laboratory now that is has received its accreditation.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.