WADA Orders Brazil's Anti-Doping Body To Adapt Protocol To Int'l Code By March 18

The World Anti-Doping Agency has given Brazil an ultimatum to adapt the protocol of the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory (LBCD) to the demands of WADA's int'l code, according to María Martín of EL PAÍS. The warning was sent in November when WADA included Brazil -- as well as Belgium, France, Greece, Mexico and Spain -- in what it called its "vigilance list." If Brazilian authorities are not able to adapt regulations to int'l guidelines before March 18, Brazil "will automatically lose its certificate for anti-doping testing in its laboratory during the Olympics." If Brazil loses its certification, athletes' tests will have to be sent to a WADA-approved lab in another country. A WADA spokesperson said that Brazilian authorities recently met with WADA representatives to discuss the LBCD's implementation of the int'l code in agreement with Brazil's legal system. Neither the LBCD nor WADA detailed "what type of changes have to be made or which procedures do not currently meet int'l protocol" (EL PAÍS, 2/16).