From Sports Arena to Positive Drug Test the Life of an Anti Doping Urine Sample

The delivery of an effective sports anti-doping program is dependent on several major elements. One of these is an appropriate sample testing strategy combining the analysis of both in and out of competition samples for substances prohibited in the sport. This article outlines the steps in this process whilst focusing on the application of separation science in the analytical elements. To illustrate the process, the lifetime of a hypothetical human sample from collection to positive result is described. Samples may be collected for analysis from competitors at an actual sporting event (termed ’in competition’) or through an unannounced visit to the sports person outside of competition (termed ’out of competition’ or ’testing in training’).