World Anti-Doping Agency publish List of Prohibited Substances and Methods for 2024

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have published the 2024 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, which will come into force on 1 January 2024.

The list, which was approved by the agency’s Executive Committee in September, designates what substances and methods are banned in particular sports and prohibited both during and outside of competition periods.

What’s on the list?

In addition to the list, which details all prohibited substances, WADA also released a Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes document, which details the changes made since the publication of the 2023 edition.

This document includes the substances and methods that are now banned at all times, the substances and methods that are only prohibited in-competition and the changes that have been made to the monitoring program, which includes substances that are not on the list, but that WADA wishes to monitor.

One of the major additions to the 2024 list is an update on the use of Tramadol, an opioid pain medication which was shown in a study by Mauger et al (2023) to be a performance-enhancing drug in highly trained cyclists.

There is now a 24 hour washout period for the use of the painkiller (with a TUE) before competition, meaning athletes cannot use the drug within a day of competing in an event.

Other substances on the list that have long been prohibited include peptide hormones, such as erthythropoietin (EPO), which was the substance 2022 PTO US Open winner Collin Chartier was found to have used in an out-of-competition test in February and was subsequently banned for.