The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed the use of dry blood spot (DBS) controls routinely at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, after its test in Tokyo, and its collaboration to finance projects that link artificial intelligence in the fight against doping.
The president of the body, the Polish Witold Banka, highlighted the advances in this type of analysis, proven in the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo –in which small samples are collected by a finger prick and dried on an absorbent card-, during his speech at a conference organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Bulgaria.
As reported by the AMA, Banka also spoke of the unlimited potential of artificial intelligence, especially in the analysis of big data, and explained that the agency helps finance three different projects in France and Canada that investigate how it can advance
the fight against doping worldwide.
“It is a very exciting time. It is these kinds of scientific innovations that are helping us to respond to the complex challenges we face. To survive, we must always keep moving forward. We strive to improve the sophistication of the approach of the global community anti-doping to catch and deter cheats “, he claimed.
Banka took part virtually in the conference “Collaborate to innovate”, organized by the Bulgarian government in collaboration with the European Union, which also featured speakers from the Commission and the European Parliament and from sports federations.