IAAF plans extensive doping controls for worlds

The IAAF has begun out-of-competition testing on athletes who may compete at this year's World Championships and will carry out more than 1,000 blood and urine doping controls during the event.

The International Association of Athletics Federations said Thursday the anti-doping program for the August 15-23 championships in Berlin is the most extensive ever conducted by the sport's governing body.

"We will have increased intelligent testing in the out-of-competition period leading up to the championships, better testing during the championships itself, and will store samples after the event for future analysis," IAAF president Lamine Diack said in a statement.

The 1,000-plus tests during the championships is a big increase on the 700 controls conducted on track and field athletes at last year's Beijing Olympics. The IAAF will also selectively freeze samples from Berlin for future analysis should new doping products or methods become detectable in the future.

MONACO, AP