The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Observer (IO) report for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games said that the high number of adverse analytical findings (AAFs) indicated the success of the ‘intelligent’ test distribution plan (TDP). In total, 1,505 tests were conducted at Toronto 2015, resulting in 18 AAFs from 13 countries and eight sports, 14 of which were as a result of pre-competition tests (17 have been confirmed by PASO to date – see table below – due to Carlos Oyarzun’s request for analysis of his B sample). The proportion of pre-competition tests was a record for the Pan American Games, at 35% or 527 tests.

‘This proportion of the pre-competition tests was unprecedented for the Pan American Games and should be used as a model for future Games’, read the IO report, which said that the testing programme at Toronto 2015 should be ‘considered a success’. It praised the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) for partnering with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and the Montreal Laboratory, and said that utilisation of local expertise should form part of PASO’s plan for Lima 2019.

It said that the utilisation of the WADA-accredited Montreal Laboratory – regarded as one of the world’s leading laboratories for the detection of performance-enhancing substances – was vindicated by the detection of two substances still in clinical trials. On 10 September, the Chilean Olympic committee (COC) confirmed that Chilean cyclist Carlos Oyarzun had tested positive for FG-4592, an alternative to erythropoietin (EPO) and sometimes referred to as ‘oxygen in a pill’. However as Oyarzun has asked for his B sample to be tested, this positive has yet to be officially confirmed by PASO – despite the IO report.

The second substance mentioned in the IO report is GW-1516. On 23 July, PASO confirmed that Argentinean wrestler Luz Clara Vázquez had tested positive for a ‘hormonal and metabolic modulator’. News reports at the time claimed that the substance involved was GW-1516, a substance developed to burn fat whilst exercising, but withdrawn from development after Glaxosmithkline found that it caused cancer in rodents. WADA issued a warning about the substance in 2013, however the Belarus national anti-doping agency (NADA) this year sanctioned an athlete for using it. A 20 July statement from the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) confirmed that it is investigating the situation.

The IO report also revealed that three Mexican athletes had tested positive for clenbuterol at the Games, however the concentration was consistent with contaminated meat. Clenbuterol is banned in most countries, but is understood to still be used to produce leaner meat in Mexico. ‘PASO confirmed verbally that they did follow up with the Mexican delegation to ascertain whether the athletes had been in Mexico before arriving in Toronto, however no evidence was reported or documented in ADAMS [Anti-Doping Administration & Management System]’, read the IO report. ‘A more thorough documentation process is recommended’.

The IO report was also critical of PASO and Toronto 2015 for failing to establish cooperation with the Canadian Border Services Agency ahead of the Games, and said that in the future, discussions with law enforcement agencies need to begin earlier. It also said that a number of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) reported they had not been contacted by either PASO or Toronto 2015 prior to the Games in relation to the athlete biological passport (ABP) programme. It said that prior contact was essential in developing effective testing and monitoring programmes. It also mentioned that the timeframe for notifying athletes of their AAF was ‘inconsistent’, and could have been standardised by PASO.