Application of the Athlete's Performance Passport for Doping Control: A Case Report

Abstract

The efficient use of testing resources is a key issue in the fight against doping. The longitudinal tracking of sporting performances to identify unusual improvements possibly caused by doping, so-called “athlete's performance passport” (APP) is a new concept to improve targeted anti-doping testing. In fact, unusual performances by an athlete would trigger a more thorough testing program. In the present case report, performance data is modeled using the critical power concept for a group of athletes based on their past performances. By these means, an athlete with unusual deviations from his predicted performances was identified. Subsequent target testing using blood testing and the athlete biological passport resulted in an anti-doping rule violation procedure and suspension of the athlete. This case demonstrates the feasibility of the APP approach where athlete's performance is monitored and might serve as an example for the practical implementation of the method.

Performance profiling as an intelligence‐led approach to antidoping in sports

“…The consequences of doping agents manifest themselves at the time of competition, whereas the biomarker itself may only be detectable for a short period of time well in advance of the actual event. 7 Performance parameters may be affected by subversive practices that are used in an attempt to avoid traditional antidoping methods. Finally, athletic performance appears to be relatively consistent and predictable over time 8 compared with the potential variability in biomarkers used within current antidoping tests.…”

“…Thus, a retrospective trawl of existing data repositories might be used to establish typical performance trends within a large cohort of athletes, and in turn identify career progression that falls outside these normal or expected rates, which may be indicative of doping. 7,13 The aim of this case report is to demonstrate the potential for mathematical modeling of individual career trajectories (i.e. the relationship between age and performance) to identify characteristics of performance evolution, which are able to distinguish athletes who have previously been convicted of doping, from others who are presumed clean.…”

“…The use of performance data in antidoping is likely to be complementary to the analysis of physiological biomarkers for several reasons. The consequences of doping agents manifest themselves at the time of competition, whereas the biomarker itself may only be detectable for a short period of time well in advance of the actual event . Performance parameters may be affected by subversive practices that are used in an attempt to avoid traditional antidoping methods.…”

Annual banned‐substance review: Analytical approaches in human sports drug testing

“…Consequently, additional information of an analytical/chemical nature as well as from complementary sources such as performance profiles have received growing attention, and especially the concept of an athlete performance passport has been the subject of intense debate . Here (potential) benefits (eg, the possibility of identifying atypical changes in the athlete's performance triggering target testing) as well as yet unresolved and unaddressed questions (eg, accuracy and validity of collected performance data, environmental factors) have been discussed …”

“…27 Here (potential) benefits (eg, the possibility of identifying atypical changes in the athlete's performance triggering target testing) as well as yet unresolved and unaddressed questions (eg, accuracy and validity of collected performance data, environmental factors) have been discussed. [28][29][30][31][32] In continuation of previous editions, 33 advances in and contributions to analytical means for human sports drug testing published over the past 12 months are evaluated in this annual banned-substance review, with a focus on substances and methods of doping as detailed in the WADA Prohibited List of 2018. 34 The 2018 version of the Prohibited List was modified compared to the 2017 edition and is now composed of only 11 classes of banned substances (S0-S9 plus P1) and three categories of prohibited methods (M1-M3) after "Alcohol" (formerly "P1") was removed ( Table 1) monitoring program continued to cover the in-competition use of the stimulants bupropion, caffeine, nicotine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradrol, and synephrine, and the narcotic analgesics codeine, hydrocodone, and tramadol.…”