Introduction
1.Our inquiry into the combatting of doping in sport has spanned the work of two Committees, formed either side of the 2017 General Election. This inquiry started in August 2015, when our predecessor Committee was concerned about a series of articles that had been published in The Sunday Times, based on the testimony of whistleblowers, into the prevalence of doping in athletics.1 Those articles, and the ensuing documentaries by the German broadcaster ARD, raised questions over what the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) did or did not know.
2.We invited Lord Coe, the President of the IAAF, to share his views and knowledge with us, in both oral evidence and in subsequent correspondence. We also received evidence from Sir Craig Reedie, the President of WADA, and the Chair and Chief Executive of UKAD.
3.The Committee then looked into doping in cycling, in response to the Fancy Bear hacking of the database of WADA and their publication of Therapeutic Use Exemption certificates (TUEs) issued for Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2011, 2012 and 2013. We inquired specifically into the medication used at that time by the cyclist and his team, Team Sky.
4.The Committee also examined issues relating to an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) into Alberto Salazar, the American coach of Sir Mo Farah, the UK distance runner, and the Nike Oregon Project, which was founded by Salazar.
5.Our predecessor Committee held 10 oral evidence sessions, from 8 September 2015 to 19 April 2017, as well as two oral evidence sessions with the Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch MP. We were grateful for the active assistance of UKAD and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) during our inquiry, and also for the many individuals who approached the Committee to offer their insights and experience on these important issues.
6.This inquiry would not have been possible without the bravery of people prepared to speak out about the need for change in the sports they love. We would like to thank all those who gave evidence over the two-year period.
1 Throughout the Report, our predecessor Committee will be referred to as ‘the Committee’.
2 March 2018