AN ANTI-DOPING laboratory struck off last June for 'falling short of world standards' is back in operation.
The AEPSAD Spanish Agency for Protection of Health in Sports in Madrid was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 10 months ago when it did not make mandatory changes to its procedures for testing sportsmen and women for drug-taking by the internationally-imposed deadline, and was labelled 'non-compliant'.
But a full inspection last month by WADA showed the AEPSAD was 'running at a high standard' and the global agency's director-general, Olivier Niggli, says he is 'confident' it will 'continue to do so'.
Niggli thanked AEPSAD for its 'continued cooperation' during the suspension and subsequent inspections and said it was now allowed to return to its testing operations 'with immediate effect'.
These involve taking blood and urine samples from sporting professionals to ensure they have not taken performance-enhancing substances, which would lead to their being disqualified.
Doping cases uncovered in Russia and China have led to Spanish Olympic contenders who came fourth or fifth in their classes being awarded silver and gold medals months after the event.
Whilst the outcome of the doping disqualifications was positive for these contenders, it meant many months when they were overlooked for crucial sponsorship.
And Olympians, even medal-winners, normally have to work full-time because they are not paid for their sport, and long hours in a bill-paying job eat into their training and hold back their future success.
Also, Spanish Olympians have said companies are typically 'scared off' by them and it is even more difficult to get a job when they have medals in their collection.
For this reason, sponsorship is vital as it helps fund their sport, and in some cases, means they can live off it, at least for given periods of time.
