Athletes are fooling themselves if they think they can use the chaos caused globally by the coronavirus pandemic to cheat, World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka has told AFP.
The Pole said physical testing might be virtually at a standstill but WADA and national anti-doping agencies possessed other weapons they can deploy in the fight against doping.
Canada and Russia have gone public in saying they have suspended their testing programmes while the British anti-doping body has significantly reduced its testing.
"COVID-19 is not a space for the athletes to cheat," Banka said in a phone interview from his home in Poland.
"They should not feel it is a time for cheating. Otherwise, the anti-doping agencies will use their weapons to catch them."
"Also they are still obliged to tell us of their whereabouts even if we cannot go and test them."
"We issued guidelines for them that cover a number of areas that may be affected by COVID-19."
- 'Cause for concern' - =======================
"The idea is to get them to contribute a minimum of their sponsorship investment in sport (to anti-doping efforts)."
"That is why we are looking for some alternative sources of funding."
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