UKAD completes major anti-doping programme at European Athletics Championships in Birmingham
UK Anti-Doping has completed its anti-doping testing programme at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where it acted as the official sample collection agency for European Athletics and the competition organiser. The championships were held from 10 to 16 August at Alexander Stadium, and after completing the seven-day programme, UKAD announced that the testing covered urine and blood samples collected both in-competition and out-of-competition. According to the British anti-doping organisation, the programme was guided by risk assessment and available intelligence, while the Athletics Integrity Unit provided expert input into its design. UKAD states that 23 of its officials and other authorised doping control personnel took part in the championships and were responsible for the operational implementation of sample collection. The organisers also linked the anti-doping programme with mandatory athlete education through the "I Run Clean" programme, which European Athletics uses as one of its key tools for protecting the integrity of its competitions.
In-competition and out-of-competition testing
The central part of the programme in Birmingham was targeted testing rather than random sample collection without prior assessment. UKAD stated that the approach was "intelligence-led" and "risk-based", meaning that it was guided by information and risk assessment. Such a model means that anti-doping organisations consider a range of relevant factors when allocating tests instead of relying solely on results, rankings or random selection. In its International Standard for Testing and Investigations, the World Anti-Doping Agency requires that test distribution planning be based on risk assessment and linked to the collection and use of anti-doping intelligence. The standard in force since 1 April 2026 also covers rules on athlete notification, sample collection, sample security, documentation and transport to the laboratory.
In Birmingham, both urine and blood samples were collected, and testing was conducted during both in-competition and out-of-competition periods. This combination is important because the anti-doping system does not begin and end at the moment an athlete steps onto the field of play. WADA rules distinguish between substances and methods prohibited at all times and those prohibited only in competition, while the 2026 list has been in force since 1 January. For this reason, programmes at major sporting events generally also rely on testing outside the finals or qualification rounds themselves, depending on risk assessment, the sporting profile and the information available. In the case of the European Championships, UKAD did not publish the total number of samples collected or the results of laboratory analyses, so its announcement about completion of the programme refers to the successful operational implementation of sample collection rather than a claim that all analytical and potential results-management procedures have already been concluded.
More than 1,500 athletes and 23 anti-doping staff members
According to UKAD, the European Athletics Championships brought together more than 1,500 elite athletes from more than 50 nations. The competition lasted seven days at Alexander Stadium, and the official European Athletics programme confirms that the championships ended on 16 August 2026. Such a concentration of athletes, disciplines, qualification rounds and finals requires anti-doping logistics that must operate in parallel with the competition without disrupting athletes' sporting obligations and rights. UKAD deployed 23 authorised doping control personnel to deliver the programme, participating in sample collection and ensuring that the process ran from the beginning to the end of the championships. The figure itself does not reveal how many athletes were tested or how many samples were collected, but it demonstrates the scale of the operational deployment the organisation had to maintain throughout the event.
Hamish Coffey, UKAD's Director of Operations, said after the championships that the organisation takes its role at major sporting events seriously because a strong testing programme should give athletes and spectators additional confidence in the performances they are watching. He thanked UKAD staff and doping control officers for their professionalism during what he described as a very busy sporting summer. His statement comes after a period in which UKAD significantly increased its overall testing activity. According to the organisation's data, 8,942 tests were carried out in the 2025/26 financial year, 264 more than the year before. Between January and March 2026 alone, 2,382 tests were carried out, 76 percent of them out-of-competition, while athletics, with 138 tests, was among the five most tested sports during that quarter.
Why an intelligence-led approach matters
The term "intelligence-led testing" in an anti-doping context does not refer only to information obtained immediately before a competition. UKAD describes its broader system as a combination of data, risk assessment, reports of possible wrongdoing and other information that can help determine when and whom to test. In the first half of 2026, the organisation received 125 reports related to suspected doping through its Protect Your Sport programme, which according to UKAD was 23 more reports than in the same period of the previous year. UKAD stated that such information during that period contributed to three of four sporting sanctions imposed, nine activities aimed at disrupting suspected doping practices, and the carrying out of 17 additional tests. These figures do not relate specifically to the European Championships in Birmingham, but they illustrate how information originating outside the field of play itself can influence the planning of anti-doping activities.
Such an approach is particularly important at a major international championship because the mere presence of testing during finals does not provide a complete picture of potential risk. In its regular reports, UKAD states that risk assessment covers periods such as preparation, qualification and time out-of-competition, when anti-doping organisations may choose to conduct targeted testing. WADA's International Standard for Testing and Investigations also emphasises the effective collection, assessment and use of anti-doping intelligence as an integral part of the system. In practice, this means that a decision to test can be based on a broader set of data rather than simply on who won a medal or achieved the best result. European Athletics identified precisely this model as the basis of the programme implemented in Birmingham.
European Athletics: the integrity of sport is non-negotiable
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov said after the competition that protecting the integrity of athletics "is non-negotiable". According to him, the continental federation designed a rigorous intelligence-led testing programme with expert input from the Athletics Integrity Unit, while UKAD was responsible for the professional implementation of sample collection in Birmingham. Karamarinov emphasised that testing is not viewed separately from education but as one part of a broader system for protecting clean sport. In this context, he highlighted the "I Run Clean" programme, which every athlete must complete to meet the eligibility requirements for competitions under European Athletics. In this way, the federation seeks to combine deterrence, detection of possible rule violations and preventive education before an athlete even arrives at a major championship.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, which operates within the World Athletics system, has a broader international role in protecting the integrity of athletics. Under the World Athletics rules for 2026, the unit has been delegated responsibility for carrying out a range of anti-doping functions for international athletics, including testing, investigations, results management, disciplinary proceedings, sanctions and appeals in areas within its jurisdiction. In the Birmingham programme, according to UKAD and European Athletics, the AIU provided expert input into the development of the testing regime, while the practical collection of samples was carried out by UKAD. This division of roles shows how multilayered the anti-doping system is at major international competitions: the continental federation, the integrity unit, the national anti-doping organisation and the laboratory system have different but interconnected functions. The published information currently concerns the organisation and implementation of the programme, without a publicly disclosed final number of samples or any analytical findings from the championships.
"I Run Clean" as a mandatory part of participation
European Athletics' "I Run Clean" programme is not merely a promotional campaign. The federation states that the diploma obtained by completing the educational programme is a mandatory qualification for athletes competing in its events. The e-learning platform was launched in 2018 as a supplement to the educational programmes of national federations, anti-doping organisations and other bodies, while the broader initiative had begun several years earlier. The programme covers topics such as values in sport, decision-making, anti-doping rules, testing procedures and athletes' responsibilities. The aim is not to replace testing but to reduce the risk of intentional and unintentional rule violations by ensuring that obligations are understood before competition.
In January 2026, European Athletics further expanded "I Run Clean" with three modules intended for members of an athlete's entourage: coaches, senior staff and medical professionals. The federation stated at the time that the programme had reached around 40,000 certified athletes across its member federations and stressed that responsibility for clean sport cannot be limited to competitors alone. Such an approach has practical significance because decisions relating to medicines, dietary supplements, treatment, recovery and preparation often involve coaches and medical personnel. In Birmingham, the requirement to complete the programme provided an additional layer of protection alongside urine and blood testing. Karamarinov specifically highlighted the combination of education and targeted testing as the foundation for confidence in a level playing field.
Analysis results may follow after the championships have ended
The end of the final event does not necessarily mean the end of all anti-doping procedures associated with a major competition. WADA's international standard sets out procedures ranging from test planning and athlete notification to the secure handling, documentation and transport of samples to a laboratory, while any subsequent results management is carried out under a separate regulatory framework. For this reason, several steps may take place between the collection of a sample and any public announcement of a finding, including laboratory analysis, administrative review and, where necessary, formal proceedings. In its announcement about Birmingham, UKAD did not provide information on the number of adverse analytical findings, nor did it publish individual cases linked to the championships. It would therefore be premature to draw conclusions about the final laboratory outcome of all samples merely from the completion of the programme.
At the same time, athletes need to understand that anti-doping rules do not cover only the direct detection of a prohibited substance. WADA's 2026 Prohibited List distinguishes between categories prohibited at all times, only in competition or in certain sports, while the anti-doping system also includes other possible rule violations depending on jurisdiction and the circumstances of the case. Effective protection of integrity therefore does not depend on a single type of test or solely on events taking place inside the stadium. For precisely this reason, the Birmingham programme combined different types of samples, testing in different time periods, risk assessment, intelligence and mandatory education. For European Athletics and UKAD, this is a model intended simultaneously to increase the likelihood of detecting wrongdoing and reduce the risk of it occurring in the first place.
Birmingham as part of an intensive sporting summer for UKAD
The European Championships were one of several major international events that increased the operational workload of the British anti-doping organisation during 2026. Ahead of the summer, UKAD stressed that it was increasing its activities because of a congested calendar of major competitions, while its regular national testing programme continued in parallel with special responsibilities at international events. Data showing almost nine thousand tests in the 2025/26 financial year demonstrate that the Birmingham programme was not an isolated operation but part of a much broader system of monitoring and prevention. At the same time, the number of reports received through Protect Your Sport shows that UKAD is increasingly emphasising the role of information provided by athletes, staff and other individuals who may identify suspicious patterns. This combination of testing, investigations, education and reporting is consistent with the direction that WADA and international sporting bodies have incorporated into anti-doping standards in recent years.
For European Athletics, the completed programme in Birmingham had additional significance because it took place at one of the largest continental athletics events, in front of a large number of athletes and spectators. The federation stated that confidence in results does not arise solely from the sporting spectacle and official results but also from the credibility of the system overseeing compliance with the rules. UKAD completed the operational part of that system after seven days of competition, with 23 anti-doping staff members and a combination of blood and urine testing. Further laboratory and regulatory steps, where required, are carried out in accordance with the rules of the competent anti-doping bodies. The publicly available announcement concerning the championships has so far not specified the final number of samples collected, leaving the focus on how the programme was conducted rather than on statistics that have not yet been published.
Sources:
- UK Anti-Doping β official announcement on UKAD's role, the testing programme, sample types, 23 anti-doping staff members and statements by Hamish Coffey and Dobromir Karamarinov (link)
- European Athletics β official Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships page with dates, venue and competition programme (link)
- European Athletics β information on the "I Run Clean" programme, new modules introduced in 2026 and mandatory athlete certification (link)
- European Athletics β description of the "I Run Clean" e-learning platform and its role in anti-doping education (link)
- UK Anti-Doping β data on 8,942 tests in the 2025/26 financial year and the risk-based approach to testing (link)
- UK Anti-Doping β data on 125 reports through Protect Your Sport in the first half of 2026 and their impact on additional testing and proceedings (link)
- World Anti-Doping Agency β 2026 International Standard for Testing and Investigations, in force since 1 April 2026 (link)
- World Anti-Doping Agency β 2026 Prohibited List, in force since 1 January 2026 (link)
- Athletics Integrity Unit β World Athletics anti-doping rules for 2026 and description of the functions delegated to the AIU (link)