Almost six weeks before the 2016 Summer Olympics are set to open, a laboratory that was prepared to handle drug-testing at the games has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Reports surfaced that the lab did not comply with WADA’s international standards as they confirmed the suspension Friday.
WADA is the global regulator of doping in sports and is responsible for overseeing three dozen testing labs around the world. The Brazilian lab in question has a lengthy disciplinary record spanning over 17 years, in addition to being one of the many labs that has had their drug testing certification revoked by WADA. One of the labs includes a Moscow anti-doping lab which was disciplined after allegations of a government-ran doping program in Russia last year. As a result, global sports officials opted to bar all Russian track and and filed competitors for the Rio games after increased pressure from olympic officials.
In recent years, WADA too has faced major scrutiny for failing to act on accusations on doping in Russia and approving the lab for lead testing during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. So far, WADA has not specified the reason as to why the lab was suspended. The Rio lab was suspended back in 2013 before the World Cup, but was later reinstated last year.
The lab had to shell out over 200 million Brazilian Reais ($60 Million) in order to train more technicians as well as add three brand-new floors to the facility. This required government funding and assistance while Brazil currently faces a recession, to earn back their certification from WADA.
While under any suspension, the lab is not allowed to conduct any analysis on blood or urine samples obtained. As of now there is no clear decision of whether or not the issue would be resolved or if the suspension will be lifted by the start of the Olympics. For now, WADA is going to transfer samples to another facility for further testing.