News

15th July 2021 - Press notes

The IMIM Anti-Doping Laboratory collaborates with the Tokyo Olympic Laboratory

Two professionals from the Laboratory will travel to the Japanese capital to support the anti-doping task that will be carried out during the Olympic Games, which begin on July 23.

The Hospital del Mar Institute for Medical Research (IMIM) will once again be Olympic. Two of the IMIM Anti-Doping Laboratory professionals will work at the Olympic Laboratory for the Tokyo Games, which start this July 23. They are Sergi Coll and Lidia Requena, who will travel to Tokyo to work until August 10. Sergi Coll is a specialist in detecting anabolic steroids, and Lidia Requena is a specialist in the detection of hormones (erythropoietin, growth hormone ...) and blood transfusions.

Sergi Coll and Lídia Requena

In addition to being the Laboratory for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, IMIM Laboratory personnel have collaborated in all the Olympic Games since it obtained accreditation as an anti-doping laboratory in 1985. But this time, the participation has a very exceptional touch given the security and prevention measures due to COVID-19, which forced the celebration of the Games to be postponed for one year. As with other professionals authorized to travel to Tokyo during this sporting event, IMIM professionals will work in a bubble and have to limit their mobility to their accommodation and work station, using the transport provided by the organization.

Despite all these restrictions, "participating in doping controls at the Olympic Games has an extraordinary interest for professionals who are dedicated to doping control", says Rosa Ventura, director of the IMIM Laboratory. "The best professionals in the world meet at the Olympic Laboratory and, in addition to helping friends and colleagues from the Tokyo Laboratory, who need the support of specialists from other laboratories to guarantee the analytical quality required with such a large volume of samples. It is a unique opportunity to catch up and learn about the most current anti-doping methodologies", he adds.

The Tokyo Laboratory will analyze 5,000 samples during the Olympic Games and 1,500 more during the Paralympic Games. This high volume of samples makes it necessary to have a lot of analytical equipment and many specialized professionals organized into work shifts to cover 24 hours a day. In addition, the Olympic Laboratory will have implemented the latest generation of anti-doping methodologies, among which the detection of gene doping and the detection of substances for doping in dried blood samples.