'Evading detection': Elite cheats are thwarting system, says Athletics Integrity Unit chief
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Athletics Integrity Unit chair and former director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), David Howman, believes the anti-doping fight has "stalled", allowing those using banned substances to cash in.
The unified front of global anti-doping efforts has been tested by recent public disagreements.
A central point of tension is the ongoing conflict between WADA and the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
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Ruth Chepngetich completing the 2025 Chicago Marathon and setting a new women's marathon world record. She has since been found guilty of doping. TNS
This friction spans several critical issues, including the response to a doping case involving 23 Chinese swimmers, financial contributions and governance, and strong opposition to next year's Enhanced Games in Las Vegas — an event explicitly allowing athletes to use performance-enhancing substances.
Speaking at the 2025 World Conference on Doping in Sport in Korea, Howman argued that the global system is too focused on compliance and is being outsmarted by sophisticated dopers and their teams.
"Let's be honest and pragmatic — the system has stalled," he said.
"Intentional dopers at [the] elite level are evading detection. We are not effective enough nowadays in catching cheats.
"Our ineffectiveness in dealing with those who are beating the rules is hurting the anti-doping movement's credibility."
Advocating for a fundamental shift in strategy, Howman proposed that anti-doping bodies must improve information sharing and adopt a "bounty-hunting" style incentive structure to proactively encourage chasing cheats.
In November, Marvin Bracy-Williams received a 45-month ban for doping offences. Steph Chambers via Getty Images
"We must all do better to support our clean athletes by catching the dirty ones, especially those at the pinnacle of sport," he said.
Howman also called for more effective and intelligence-led efforts to protect clean athletes.
Wide World of Sports recently spoke exclusively with Howman about the grips of athletics' doping crisis.
Last month, former world 100m silver medallist Marvin Bracy-Williams received a ban of over three and a half years after admitting to doping offences. Fellow American sprinter Erriyon Knighton was also handed a four-year suspension in September following a positive test for steroids.
Additionally, in October, women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich was banned for three years after a sample revealed a banned diuretic, which is often utilised as a masking agent. Chepngetich retains her world record.
Beyond individual cases, the anti-doping authority in Kenya — whose athletes have faced a spate of positive tests — is currently on a WADA watchlist.
Meanwhile, Russia remains categorised by WADA as "non-compliant" because of officials' prior involvement in systematic cheating and sample manipulation, notably at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
