The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) was founded by World Athletics in 2017 to combat doping and address other forms of ethical misconduct in the sport of athletics.[1] The Monaco-based organization operates independently from World Athletics to fulfill World Anti-Doping Code requirements.[2] It is currently headed by Brett Clothier.[3]
The organization collected more than 3800 samples from athletes in the first six months of 2021 in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics.[4] In 2023, AIU announced new efforts to establish a "blood steroid passport" to better detect the presence of steroids, more commonly used in sprinting and throwing events, through blood serum and endocrine testing.[5]
Testing and Disciplinary Process
AIU conducts in-competition and out-of-competition blood and urine testing of athletes. Athletes in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must meet whereabouts requirements to facilitate random testing.[6] Athletes may be tested by AIU, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee, or national anti-doping organizations. Use of substances on the WADA Prohibited List without a Therapeutic Use Exemption, abnormalities in the Athlete Biological Passport, whereabouts failures, test tampering, and other doping rules violations may result in disciplinary measures.[7]
The AIU disciplinary process includes provisional suspensions in force, pending first instance cases, and first instance decisions.[8] Charges are brought by the AIU before the international, 47-member Disciplinary Tribunal to issue a first instance decision.[9] These decisions may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the athlete or AIU.[10][11] AIU maintains a list of individuals currently ineligible to participate in the sport of athletics.[12]
AIU categorizes national athletics federations into three groups based on doping risk and athlete success at the international level, with Category A reflecting the highest combined doping risk and success and Category C reflecting the lowest. Higher categories require stronger anti-doping measures from the national federations. As of 2024, Category A includes the national athletics federations of Belarus, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, and Ukraine. Category B has 54 national federations and Category C has 152.[13]
