WADA suspends accreditation for Mexico City anti-doping lab

The World Anti-Doping Agency announced today that it has suspended the accreditation of the Laboratorio Nacional de Prevencion y Control del Dopaje-CONADE in Mexico City, Mexico, for a period of up to six months.

The suspension, which took effect on November 23, prohibits the lab from carrying out WADA-related anti-doping activity, chiefly the analysis of urine and blood samples. The laboratory has 21 days in which to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"The decision to suspend the laboratory is a direct result of the more stringent quality assessment procedures enacted by WADA to ensure laboratories maintain the highest standards," the anti-doping agency said in today’s announcement.

The laboratory must address all “non-conformities identified by the Laboratory Expert Group or WADA” within the six months or face the possibility of another six-month suspension. If the laboratory satisfies WADA in meeting the requirements, it can apply for reinstatement prior to the suspension period.

The Mexico City laboratory is the eighth WADA-accredited laboratory to be sanctioned in recent months. Laboratories in Lisbon, Bloemfontein, Beijing, Madrid and Rio were all suspended, while Moscow’s laboratory had its accreditation revoked in April. The Mexico suspension leaves just 27 WADA-accredited labs active worldwide.

Most recently, the laboratory in Doha, Qatar, was suspended just days before a meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in the Middle Eastern country, leading to an apology from WADA President Craig Reedie for the timing of the move.