The chairman of the Sports Federation's doping commission says he does not think the American experiment "feels strenuous and something I say hurray, we should do this".
"There must be many more ways to manipulate such a test than when we have our own testers who come home to the sports," says Andrén Sandberg.
He says he would not feel confident about the self-test if there was someone who was suspected of being drugged.
-But if we have someone who has passed many negative tests, such as Charlotte Kalla or our swimming stars, then it would be possible to do this.
Took on
As there is a quarantine in the United States, and the US anti-doping organization Usada is therefore unable to send out its testers for unreported doping tests on athletes, Usada has launched an effort to allow 15 sports stars to conduct doping tests on themselves.
-We have laid the groundwork for this for several months and covid-19 made it quick for us, says Travis Tygart, director of Usada, to The New York Times.
Ledecky is pleased
Instead of the tester knocking on the door, the active one is reached by a phone call. The doping test is done through video calls when the active person first shows up his bathroom and then pee in the container, but then with the mobile phone outside the bathroom. The active should then take the temp on the urine, to show that it is fresh. Then the athlete should take a blood test on himself and then close the urine and blood sample while the tester watches through the video call. A courier company then retrieves the samples.
-I am very happy to do this. It feels very comfortable, says swim star Katie Ledecky to The New York Times.
Sprinter Noah Lyles, on the other hand, prefers the usual method he thinks is more reliable.
"I personally would rather have a tester here," he says.
distasteful
Åke Andrén Sandberg asks the question what happens if one of these American doping tests turned out to be positive, if anyone can be judged then.
-When you have gone from all our usual rules, would it really go? It will be exciting to hear what they find in America, but I think there are better ways to simplify things, he says.
-And I don't think it's really tasty for some people to have blood tests on themselves, at least when it comes to athletes who aren't used to it.
Swedish athletes do not avoid doping tests during the corona pandemic.
- It is not excluded to test now either, but you may do so with more discernment. Our testers can stay at a proper distance from the ones they are testing, says Andrén Sandberg.