The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has lauded the continued increase in out-of-competition testing by National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOS) in the sport of Athletics . 

An overview of testing trends in the lead-up to  the recent World Athletics Championships shows a rise in the overall number of out of competition testing of competing athletes, prior to the World Athletics Tokyo 2025. 

The figure jumped by 49 per cent compared to out of competition testing of competing athletes prior to london world championship in 2017, from 4,146 to 6,193 tests. 

A comparison of the two most recent championships, Budapest 2023 and this summer’s spectacle in Tokyo, has shown this trend continuing, with testing rising by 19 per cent from 3,300 tests pre-Budapest to 3,940 before the Tokyo Games. 

The unique World Athletics Anti-Doping rules place obligations on member federations in relation to anti-doping matters, including the requirement that the teams they bring to major championships must have a reasonable amount of testing.

This rule enforced by the AIU which works closely with member Federations and the relevant, national anti-doping organizations, to ensure that both quantity and quality of the domestic testing programmes are appropriate.