During the 13th Olympic Summit held at Lausanne, Switzerland, World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) president, Witold Banka, advised athletes around the world to collaborate with each other to fight against doping.
His advice came as participants discussed a series of topics related to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, including the anti-doping work of WADA and the International Testing Agency (ITA). Banka emphasised that 85 operations of WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department were jointly conducted by European National Anti-Doping Agencies and law enforcement agencies. He noted that the operations removed an estimated 450 million doses of potentially dangerous drugs from circulation.
In addition, he gave an update on the process of adopting the Cottier Report and the World Aquatics Audit Report as part of the World Anti-Doping Code, as well as the review of the 2027 Code. Participants of the summit were also informed that 90 percent of the participants at Paris 2024 were tested at least once in the six months prior to the event, signifying that more than 31 000 tests.
Reached for comment on Banka’s speech, Botswana Anti-Doping officer Ntebo Khubamang said the onus now falls on countries like Botswana to step up the fight for clean sport.
“Botswana as a signatory to the UNESCO convention and the WADA Code is committed to fighting doping in sport and promotion of clean and fair play amongst athletes and the support personnel.”
“With the current speech of the WADA president at the 13th Summit, it has become very apparent that the gap which needs to be filled in promotion of clean sport is education,” Khubamang said.
She emphasised that strict adherence to anti-doping promotes fair play while ensuring that athletes compete on a level playing field without any unfair advantages gained from doping. “The primary goal of anti-doping education is to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs and other prohibited substances and methods by athletes.”
Botswana anti-doping office is committed to promotion of clean sport through intensive education for both athletes and their support personnel by provision of education materials, organizing education sessions and outreach program that are equipped with trained and experienced educators,” she elaborates further.
“The ‘Think Tank’ initiative by WADA will be an addition to the existing education programme that is already in plan for Botswana to encourage our athletes and support personnel,” Khubamang further states.
With the high rise of doping cases in Botswana, Khubamang explained that intensive and increased testing will also be implemented. As it contributes as part of education to Botswana athletes and their management, with Botswana’s highly qualified, trained and experienced doping Control officers Khubamang highlighted that it is possible to curb doping cases going forward.
