JAAA doctor sounds alarm over whereabouts failures spike

Dr Warren Blake, a veteran member of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association’s (JAAA) medical commission, is raising concerns over what he describes as a growing number of athletes being flagged for whereabouts and filing failures under anti-doping rules.

A former JAAA president who has also served on medical commissions for World Athletics, Blake told STAR Sports the trend has become increasingly frequent in recent months.

“It is a worrying trend that we are seeing because every month over the last few months, we have gotten two and three athletes, different athletes, being flagged for whereabouts failures or filing failures,” Blake told STAR Sports. “Whilst it has not gone to the level where they have been called up for sanctioning, the sheer numbers are a cause for concern for the federation.”

Blake’s comments come against the backdrop of 2026 Rio Olympic 110m hurdles gold medallist Omar McLeod being flagged for a whereabouts rule violation, and 2024 long jump world indoor bronze medallist Carey McLeod’s acceptance of a two-year ban earlier this year over repeated whereabouts failures.

Specifics of case

Blake did not speak directly to the specifics of McLeod’s case.

Under the rules, athletes in the Registered Testing Pool must file a one-hour daily testing window each quarter and must keep that information updated if their plans or location change.

Blake stressed that responsibility for compliance rests solely with the athlete, even when the paperwork is handled by a manager or representative.

“A lot of athletes tend to delegate these responsibilities to their representatives and their managers,” he said. “But the managers and representatives are not the ones going to be sanctioned; it is them that are going to be sanctioned once they have three failures in a 12-month period. So they need to take it seriously and need to file on time,” Blake explained.

“And if they are going overseas or changing their routine from what they have filed, they need to update their whereabouts on ADAMS, which is something that’s very easy to do and can be done online,” the veteran sports administrator added.

Haven’t competed for extended period

Asked whether an athlete who has not competed for an extended period is still obligated to comply, Blake said the requirement stands until a federation is formally notified otherwise.

“Once you’re still in the registered pool, you have to comply with filing,” Blake responded.

“If you’re going to retire or give up running, then you need to officially inform the federation so that we can pass it on to the authorities so that they can take you off their registered testing pool. But once you are still listed as active and still on a registered testing pool, you’re liable to be tested,” he added.

Blake noted that a whereabouts violation is distinct from other anti-doping rule breaches, such as the inadvertent use of a prohibited substance, and said it is one of the more avoidable infractions.

“If you happen to inadvertently take a substance or ingest something that you shouldn’t have ingested, you may or may not have known that you were doing it,” he said. “But to not be at the location at the time that you said you would be, that’s really inexcusable,” Blake warned.