This archive report was first published on 20 April 2020.
On April 20, 2020, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) introduced a groundbreaking random testing program to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the United States and much of the world grappled with lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus, USADA developed a program where athletes could collect blood and urine samples from their own homes, while being monitored remotely via Zoom or FaceTime by testing personnel.
The test kits were sent to athletes, who were required to produce samples when they received an unannounced call from a doping control officer. The officer watched the blood sample being taken, but urine samples were collected in private.
Once the samples were collected, they were sealed under the eye of the doping control officer and sent to an accredited lab for testing.
USADA chief executive Travis Tygart stated that many top US Olympic hopefuls were eager to participate in the pilot project.
Notable athletes such as freestyle swimming great Katie Ledecky and athletes Noah Lyles and Allyson Felix volunteered for the program.
"We've been talking about this and laying the foundation for several months," Tygart said. "COVID put that on fast forward and allowed us to roll it out."
Ledecky expressed her comfort with administering her first self-test at her home in California, saying she "felt very comfortable" with the process.
USADA implemented safeguards to minimize opportunities for cheating, including timing the sample collection and recording the temperature of the sample.
