THERE has been an awful lot of noise generated by Artur Beterbiev’s ‘atypical finding’ following Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing on December 6. Atypical findings are not unusual, they do not constitute test failures and ordinarily wouldn’t be made public knowledge. On this occasion, journalist Kevin Iole broke the story on January 10.
So, what is an atypical finding? Very simply, it means that an abnormality – as opposed to a substance – was detected at the time of testing and further testing is required. In Beterbiev’s case, there were heightened levels of human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone metabolite 5D-androstanediol. Such increases can either be natural or artificially induced.
For further context, an ‘adverse finding’ – a test failure – occurs when a substance or the markings of has been detected. Again, that was not the case with Artur Beterbiev.
According to the World Anti-Doping Code, an atypical finding is defined as “A report from a WADA-accredited Laboratory or other WADA-approved Laboratory which requires further investigation.”
A clue to the meaning of atypical findings is in the wording. For example, southpaws could be classed as atypical considering the typical boxer is an orthodox right-hander.
Dr Margaret Goodman, President of VADA, yesterday told Boxing News: “Atypical findings are fairly common in PED testing and do not constitute an adverse test result. They can result from various causes. Atypical findings generally warrant the collection of further samples. But no negative inference should be drawn from an atypical finding in and of itself.”
According to the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) statistics, 312 of 241,430 samples had atypical findings. Not unusual but rare enough, at less than one per cent, to warrant further investigation. Which, of course, is what happened with Beterbiev. Further tests were carried out on December 15, December 21 and January 3, all of which were normal. VADA’s role is not, and never has been, to decide why something is present or why something is heightened. The role of VADA, very simply, is to test athletes and report the findings. Therefore, though VADA can verify that Beterbiev’s levels were normal in subsequent blood and urine tests, it is not their job to investigate why they were not on December 6.
In atypical findings, it is possible that athletes illegally boosted their HGH or used other substances in conjunction with it to enhance performance or aid recovery. That has been proved with extra testing in certain cases, but it has not been proved here.
Further, HGH and testosterone levels can naturally spike after strenuous exercise or abnormal activity. Also, the American Journal of Physiology concluded after conducting a study of 11 healthy men that even sleep deprivation “is invariably associated with a robust increase in GH secretion.”
It was suggested by Beterbiev that the reason the news of the atypical findings became public was because Team Smith were planning to release the information. That, however, would have broken confidentiality rules.
Beterbiev, 19-0 (19), said in a statement: “It has come to my attention that Callum intends to disseminate misleading information about my VADA testing program for this fight.
“Let me be clear now: I am a clean athlete. I have never tested positive for a banned substance throughout my amateur and professional career and I complied with all VADA requirements and protocols during the build-up to this fight. Any attempt to imply otherwise, through innuendo or suggestion is slanderous and libelous. This conduct is beyond acceptable trash talk in combat sports. Callum is already searching for excuses, looking for a way out. See you Saturday.”
Both Beterbiev and Smith are subject to continued testing from VADA.