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IOC young reporters quiz WADA director general

2012-01-16 17:57 WADA

January 13, 2012 - WADA Director General David Howman gave a group of young media the benefit of his years of experience in anti-doping during a presentation to the IOC Young Reporters at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.

Mr. Howman delivered a presentation on anti-doping to 15 young journalists the day before the opening ceremony for the IOC’s inaugural winter youth event in Innsbruck.

The presentation included an explanation of the role and structure of WADA, and a look at the current issues and trends affecting the world anti-doping community.

In particular, Mr. Howman outlined the role of the entourage in doping, the importance of testing for the full range of performance-enhancing substances, and the increasing influence of organized crime in world sport.

“It was a pleasure to communicate with these aspiring young journalists and to enhance their knowledge of anti-doping,” explained Mr. Howman.

“The reality is that doping is a major threat to sport across the world and educating young journalists on anti-doping I hope will enable them to keep a media focus on the problem in years ahead.”

The presentation was followed by a question and answer session with Mr. Howman, who was asked about EPO and clenbuterol, lifetime bans, the cost of testing and the length of time samples can be kept for testing.

“These young journalists had clearly done their homework and had some knowledge of the issues in doping,” added Mr. Howman.

“It was a unique opportunity to explain that many of the decisions that are made – for example with sanctions – are not made by WADA in isolation; rather they are made in collaboration with the world anti-doping community.”

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