How Wada conducts the doping tests

Doping tests are conducted by World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) through its local representatives in this case, Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak).

The tests are either conducted during a championships or out of competition. An athlete can be informed well in advance or the Wada or Adak officials can make an impromptu visit to where an athlete is.

Notably, the athlete is supposed to inform Wada or Adak officials on his/her whereabouts through an online system so as to make work easy for the anti-doping officials.

If an athlete doesn't indicate his or her whereabouts and a doping test is missed, then they are warned. Three missed tests in a year will result in a straight ban.

In athletics, an athlete is called to be informed first on his or her failed drug test before the local federation is informed immediately.

The athlete can decide to accept liability where a ban is announced officially by the IAAF through its local representative, in this case Athletics Kenya.

B SAMPLE

The athlete has the liberty of requesting for a second test known as B Sample test but at their own expense. If the samples return positive test, then the athlete is banned but pardoned if they are negative.

The athlete can also request or file an appeal for a full hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in London if they suspect that their samples were interfered with, or justice wasn't served.

Rarely have B Sample test returned negative tests.

However, analysis of the B sample of Kenyan middle distance runner Bernard Lagat failed to confirm the initial result of the anti-doping test conducted in Tubingen, Germany on 8 August 2003.

The analysis of the A sample had returned an adverse finding for Erythropoietin (EPO).

Kenya’s marathoner Rita Jeptoo, who was banned for two years for doping, took her case to CAS on April 21, 2015.

IAAF had also taken their case to CAS saying Jeptoo’s ban was lenient. She lost her case and was added two more years.