EDITORIAL: Local athletes should be aware of doping issues

Rwanda’s long distance runner Robert Kajuga was recently banned for four years by the Regional Anti-Doping Organization’s (RADO) for missing a drug test last May – ahead of the 2015 Kigali International Peace Marathon. The Olympian became the first Rwandan to be handed such a ban. Kajuga, who has since lodged an appeal, insists he’s not a drug cheat, explaining that he did not intend to miss the doping test. He says that after missing the random test in Kigali he later took a similar test in Nairobi, Kenya, having previously tested negative during the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia. Whether the account of the athlete holds water or not is beside the point now. The fact is that he missed a doping test and faces a four- year suspension! And, while we wish him the best, it remains to be seen if he can successfully challenge this lengthy suspension. Globally, doping tests are crucial in ensuring fair competition and preventing cheating among athletes in various sports disciplines. RADO carries out doping tests in member states under the authority of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Now, Kajuga may be an innocent man, but as a professional athlete he should have known that skipping the test had far reaching consequences. His behaviour therefore points to how ignorant our sportsmen and women might be on issues related to doping. They may not even know which substances are banned by RADA! RADA regularly provides an updated official list of banned substances that all athletes are required to steer clear of. Now, in the absence of a national anti-doping agency (which we ought to have in the first place), the National Olympics and Sports Committee (RNOSC) and its affiliate federations should ensure that our sportsmen and women are aware of these sports rules and behave appropriately. This week, the Rwanda Athletics Federation (RAF) decided to set up what it called a ‘medical commission’ that will conduct a health screening of all local athletes ahead of major competitions. This is a positive development but RAF and other sports federations should also prioritise issues related to doping, by conducing regular sensitization campaigns among our sportspeople with regard to banned substances or energy enhancers, and regularly conducting doping tests. A recent case involving tennis great Russian Maria Sharapova, who failed a drug test because of an oxygen-enhancer she had been taking for 10 years that was only added to the list of banned substances by RADA this year, should serve as a lesson to all athletes. We must all help ensure the integrity of sport.

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EDITORIAL: Local athletes should be aware of doping issues