MINSK, 22 May (BelTA) - There is no meaningful association between an athlete having a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) and winning a medal at the Olympic Games, according to a study carried out by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), BelTA has learned.
The study, conducted by WADA Medical Director, Dr. Alan Vernec, and WADA TUE Manager, David Healy, examined the prevalence of athletes with TUEs at the five summer and winter Olympic Games between 2010 and 2018 and looked for an association to determine if those with TUEs won more medals than those without.
According to the study, the data showed that the number of athletes competing with valid TUEs (in individual competitions) at the selected Games was less than 1%. During the five Olympic Games between 2010 and 2018, there were 20,139 athlete competitions and 2,062 medals awarded. Athletes competed with a TUE in 0.9% (181) of athlete competitions.
“The TUE Program is a necessary part of sport allowing athletes with legitimate medical conditions to compete on a level playing field. It has overwhelming acceptance from athletes, physicians and anti-doping stakeholders, and there is a stringent process in place to avoid abuse of the system,” Alan Vernec said.
