Imagine yourself for a candlelit dinner with your partner. The atmosphere is romantic, a self-cooked bravura dish is waiting on the table, and a quality wine has been dug out of the cupboard for a long time.
Suddenly, completely unannounced people burst into the scene. It’s a bit strange that anyone would show up for a visit at this time, let alone without telling anything about it in advance.
Then you remember your partner is an elite athlete and you realize who the visitors are. Doping testers, in the making his work and finding himself in yet another surprising situation in the middle of other people’s everyday life.
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“It’s not always a good time to take a test.”
Helsinki Maija Kopo has worked as a doping tester for 32 years. He has witnessed some situations when he shows up at athletes’ homes for a surprise visit.
Most of the test situations go smoothly, but sometimes the timing just hits the worst possible situation.
“It’s clear that it’s not always a good time for a test,” Kopo admits.
“Athletes travel a lot and may spend many nights away from home. Then when you go to visit, there might be a romantic dinner going on.”
The situations are usually acknowledged with humor, and the athletes participate in the test without grumbling.
Like a test manager Katja Huotari The Finnish Sports Ethics Center (Suek) expresses the matter: testing is a right for an athlete, not an obligation. That way he can show that he is a pure athlete.
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“A member of the test team must be present at all times.”
Doping samples are usually taken from urine, but sometimes also from blood.
I noticed testers are instructed to disturb the life of the athlete and possible living partners as little as possible.
“While waiting for the sample to be taken, the athlete can act as he wishes at home, taking into account, however, that he must be under the supervision of the test team from the moment of the invitation. Therefore, he cannot be in a different state than a member of the test group,” says Huotari.
“Athletes travel a lot for competitions and camps. In this case, the athlete may pack and retrieve things from, for example, the warehouse or even completely outside the home. A member of the test team must be present at all times.”
By the time of the home visit, the athlete may also be about to leave for another place. Then the plans change, and he stays home. Alternatively, the tester can also go with the athlete if the trip is particularly important.
One the issue in doping testers’ home visits repeats itself year after year and regardless of the time. The visit begins with the athlete’s familiar words.
“It’s usually said that ‘it’s really messed up here.’ Although it’s cool”, Kopo laughs.
Otherwise, the conversation during the home visit varies from side to side. An athlete’s visit can easily take over an hour when, in addition to testing, e.g. paperwork is taken care of.
“Sometimes we talk a lot, and sometimes we are very quiet. We can talk about sports, and athletes ask all kinds of questions about doping testing. The test situation is confidential, and the athletes know it,” says Kopo.
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“The test situation is a bit like driving a car and the police come after you.”
Maija Kopo is used to listening to athletes complain about their messy apartment.
There are hardly any unpleasant experiences working with athletes at Kopo. The few irritations about arriving at the front door have been quickly resolved.
“If there has been a bad moment, the athlete may have tightened something. He may have had a long day, tired or hungry. Then he did apologize, and things have been taken care of.”
Kopo according to the athlete’s behavior, it is not possible to predict his “purity” or the use of doping. However, the presence of the tester can make the athlete paranoid.
“My colleague once said that the test situation is a bit like driving a car and the police come after you. You immediately start to wonder if you were driving towards red lights or speeding, even though you know that wasn’t the case.”
“The athlete may be afraid that he has definitely checked whether the drug was allowed, and starts thinking about what he has taken during the week.”
The sampling process itself can also cause tension for athletes.
If the sample is taken from the urine – as is often done – the testing inevitably goes into a very intimate and personal area. The athlete goes to the toilet together with a tester of the same sex.
“The task of the supervisor is to monitor that the sample is given exactly according to the instructions and that there is no attempt to manipulate it. In that, we see that the performance itself takes place as it should,” says Kopo.
“I myself have experience for such a long time and I’m a nurse by training, so it’s a completely natural situation for me.”
According to Kopo, today’s young athletes are already well aware and educated about testing. When they first get tested, they know what’s going to happen.
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“The athletes are a nice bunch.”
Over the years, doping tests become routine for both athletes and testers.
Doping testing performed in addition to home visits, for example in competitions, camps and trainings. Samples are taken not only from urine but also from blood.
Going on a testing trip requires Kopo to prepare carefully and familiarize himself with what kind of samples are taken from the athletes and how many people are tested at any given time.
“It requires a lot of careful advance planning. You can’t go on a trip just from that,” Kopo knows.
His working days also include, for example, assembling groups of testers and transporting samples to the laboratory.
Even after a 32-year career, Kopo still finds work pleasant. Whether he happens to be in the middle of a couple’s candlelit dinner or the messy hallways of a single person, one thing manages to make him happy day after day.
“The athletes are a nice bunch. That’s why this work is done. It’s nice to be with them.”
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