What is an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)?
The ABP is an electronic record of an athlete’s biological values that is developed over time from multiple collections of blood samples.
The ABP testing differs from traditional testing by looking for the effects of blood doping rather than detecting the prohibited substances or methods themselves. The advantage of this approach is that the biological effects of a performance-enhancing agent are commonly present and detectable for a longer period than the agent itself.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) views the incorporation of ABP testing as a complementary tool to traditional testing which will take Australia’s anti-doping efforts to the cutting-edge of the worldwide battle against doping.
Programs incorporating an ABP have been successfully implemented internationally. A number of cases relying on the ABP have successfully been run through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The ABP will be focused on Australia’s elite athletes but all athletes within SIA’s testing jurisdiction could be selected for ABP testing.
What it means for Australian Athletes
The program will affect the way Australian athletes provide samples and new testing procedures will be implemented to accommodate the ABP.
The main differences to the current process will be:
- The ABP testing process will require an athlete to wait for two hours following training or competition before the blood sample is taken
- SIA will be collecting information from athletes via a questionnaire, which will take about ten minutes to complete
The questionnaire will also be used in SIA’s traditional blood testing program; however, the two hour waiting period following training or competition will only apply to athletes tested under ABP conditions.
Full details of the testing process are available through our revised Athlete Testing Guide, located on the Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) website.