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Montreal, 26 May 2020 – On 5 September 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) partially suspended the accreditation of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, limited to the laboratory’s isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analytical method, due to non-conformities with the relevant technical document (TD2016IRMS).
On 6 September 2019, SMRTL challenged the partial suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and requested an order that it be kept confidential pending resolution of the CAS appeal.
Further to implementation of certain key corrective actions by SMRTL and based on a recommendation of the WADA Laboratory Expert Group (LabEG), the Chairman of the WADA Executive Committee lifted the partial suspension on 7 October 2019, subject to certain conditions, including a laboratory on-site assessment by WADA and satisfaction of all remaining recommendations of the WADA LabEG.
SMRTL has met all the conditions and satisfied all recommendations of the WADA LabEG. As such, SMRTL’s accreditation has been fully reinstated.
WADA can confirm that SMRTL cooperated fully in making the corrective actions recommended by the WADA LabEG and athletes can be confident that the laboratory is operating at the high standards required by WADA and the global anti-doping program. By mutual agreement, the CAS case is no longer moving forward, enabling WADA to publish both the partial suspension and its subsequent lifting.
In accordance with the International Standard for Laboratories, WADA is responsible for accrediting and re-accrediting anti-doping laboratories, thereby ensuring they maintain the highest quality standards. This monitoring process is conducted in conjunction with the International Organization for Standardization assessment by independent national accreditation bodies that are full members of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
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