WADA holds first Athlete Passport Management Unit Workshop

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) held its first ever Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) Workshop on 1 March 2024, gathering 46 staff from all 16 WADA-approved APMUs.  

The workshop was held at the Institute of Biochemistry of the German Sport University Cologne, home of the WADA-Accredited Laboratory in Cologne, which convened anti-doping scientists from 26-29 February for the 42nd Manfred Donike Workshop on doping analysis.   

The agenda of this first WADA APMU Workshop included sessions aimed at harmonizing various steps of passport management, discussion of cases, and brainstorming solutions to specific issues related to Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) program management. A particular emphasis was given to sharing experiences and successes with the new features of the ABP launched in 2023, including the Endocrine Module and the new blood steroid markers.  

“The APMU’s role is to translate complex biological results, compiled in athletes’ passports, into actionable recommendations for Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs), which is not a simple task” noted Dr. Norbert Baume, Senior Manager of the ABP at WADA. “Through the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and best practices, this workshop aims to develop a strong and harmonized APMU network to best serve the ADO community.”  

The APMU role has evolved considerably since the launch of the ABP, most notably with the entry into force of the TD APMU in 2019. This workshop is part of a broader strategy at WADA to continue to refine and enhance the APMU role with the goal of ensuring quality passport management for all ADOs and, by extension, better anti-doping outcomes.