Why Olympic Athletes Need More Than “Checked Box” Certification

The stakes for complement security have by no means been increased. On January 1, 2026, the World Anti-Doping Company’s (WADA) 2026 Checklist of Prohibited Substances and Strategies formally took impact,[1] and simply weeks earlier than the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Video games start in February. For athletes competing on the highest stage, the margin for error has basically vanished. A single contaminated complement can finish an Olympic profession, and athletes stay answerable for something discovered of their system, whether or not the publicity was intentional or not.

This yr’s listing updates embody essential new clarifications and additions throughout a number of substance classes, with a number of prohibited compounds having been present in dietary dietary supplements and analysis chemical substances. As TruShield™ Licensed founder Lori Bestervelt, Ph.D. emphasizes: “Shut sufficient will not be ok when an athlete’s profession is on the road.”

For manufacturers serving elite athletes and examined opponents, complete banned substance testing aligned with WADA requirements is extra than simply good follow, it is important safety. This text covers what’s new for 2026 and why testing depth issues greater than ever. Earlier than diving in, subscribe to PricePlow’s TruShield Licensed information alerts so that you get notified of the newest testing updates and bulletins:

The Actuality: Athletes Are Answerable for Every little thing in Their System

WADA’s guidelines place full duty on athletes for any prohibited substance detected of their physique, no matter the way it obtained there. This extends past conventional sports activities vitamin dietary supplements to merchandise athletes may use for sleep assist, stress administration, immune perform, or common well being. Lotions and lotions depend, too! The implications for constructive exams embody:

Disqualification from competitors
Lack of medals and information
Suspension from sport (probably years)
Stripped sponsorships and endorsements
Everlasting profession harm

Hint quantities — even ranges far under what would supply any efficiency profit — can nonetheless set off constructive exams and sanctions. With the Worldwide Testing Company (ITA) overseeing anti-doping operations at Milano Cortina 2026, the scrutiny on complement use has intensified.

The problem: complement contamination stays a persistent drawback. Cross-contamination throughout manufacturing, undeclared substances, and the presence of novel substances not listed on labels all create danger. Athletes want certification packages that check comprehensively, not simply verify packing containers.

What’s New within the 2026 WADA Prohibited Checklist

The 2026 listing updates,[2] accredited by WADA’s Government Committee in September 2025, primarily present clarifications and additions to current classes. Whereas these may seem to be minor technical adjustments, they’ve vital implications for complement testing.

S1: Anabolic Brokers – Widespread Testosterone Esters Clarified

The 2026 listing provides particular clarifications for frequent esters of testosterone, now explicitly together with testosterone cypionate and testosterone propionate. Whereas these substances had been at all times prohibited as anabolic brokers, the express naming removes any ambiguity for athletes, their assist personnel, and testing laboratories.

S2: Peptide Hormones and Development Components – New EPO Mimetic

Pegmolesatide was added as a brand new erythropoietin (EPO) mimetic agent. EPO mimetics stimulate pink blood cell manufacturing, probably enhancing endurance efficiency by bettering oxygen supply to muscle tissues. These substances symbolize an evolving class the place new compounds proceed to emerge.

S4: Hormone and Metabolic Modulators – Complement Considerations

Two substances present in some dietary supplements and analysis chemical substances had been added to the prohibited listing, and their presence raises critical security issues for each athletes and common shoppers:

BAM15 (1-(4-chloro-3,5-dinitrophenoxy)-2,4-dinitrobenzene): A mitochondrial uncoupler that will increase vitality expenditure by disrupting regular mobile vitality manufacturing. Whereas it has been explored in analysis settings for weight administration functions, BAM15 has by no means been accredited for human use. All current analysis has been performed in mice, with no long-term human security trials and no established secure doses for people.

The compound’s mechanism — uncoupling mitochondrial respiration to generate warmth as a substitute of ATP — carries inherent dangers. Extreme mitochondrial uncoupling can result in harmful will increase in physique temperature, organ stress, and metabolic disruption. Regardless of these issues and the entire absence of human security knowledge, BAM15 has appeared in merchandise marketed for fats loss, usually offered as “analysis chemical substances” or included in dietary supplements with out correct disclosure.

TruShield™ Licensed brings WADA-level banned substance testing to dietary supplements. Led by Lori Bestervelt (who created NSF 173 & Licensed for Sport), it exams for 400+ banned substances utilizing the identical lab sports activities organizations belief when athletes check constructive.

For athletes, BAM15’s prohibition standing is now express. For all shoppers, the dearth of toxicology knowledge, unknown secure dosing ranges, and absence of any regulatory approval make any product containing this compound a critical well being danger.

2-phenylbenzo[h]chromen-4-one: A selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM)-like compound with potential metabolic results. Like BAM15, this substance exists primarily in analysis chemical markets moderately than accredited pharmaceutical merchandise. Its presence in complement manufacturing amenities creates cross-contamination danger even when not deliberately added to formulations.

Each substances exemplify a harmful sample within the complement trade: compounds studied solely in educational analysis or offered as “analysis chemical substances” discovering their means into shopper merchandise. This sample is not new, both: SARMs (selective androgen receptor modulators) adopted the very same trajectory. They moved from laboratory analysis to grey market gross sales and led to complement contamination, creating widespread issues for each athlete security and shopper well being.

S6: Stimulants – Potent Modafinil Analogues

The inclusion of flmodafinil (CRL-40,940 or lauflumide) and fladrafinil (CRL-40,941) addresses a rising drawback within the nootropic and cognitive enhancement complement area. These compounds are stronger analogues of modafinil, a prescription wakefulness-promoting agent already prohibited in competitors.

The security issues with these substances are substantial:

Neither compound has undergone FDA scientific trials for human security. Whereas modafinil itself has been studied extensively and accredited for particular medical makes use of, its analogues haven’t. The modifications that make flmodafinil and fladrafinil stronger than the dad or mum compound additionally introduce unknown variables concerning their results on the cardiovascular system, neurological perform, and potential for dependence.
Purity, long-term unwanted side effects, and poisonous dosages are fully unknown. Merchandise containing these compounds are sometimes sourced from analysis chemical suppliers the place high quality management and purity requirements are inconsistent at greatest. Shoppers don’t have any approach to confirm what they’re really getting, what dose they’re taking, or what contaminants could be current.
They’re being marketed as nootropics for cognitive enhancement. The enchantment of enhanced focus, wakefulness, and psychological efficiency has created a marketplace for these compounds amongst college students, professionals, and athletes in search of aggressive benefits. Merchandise are offered on-line with minimal oversight, usually labeled as “analysis chemical substances” or “not for human consumption” to skirt regulatory necessities whereas clearly being marketed for human use.

Athletes face twin dangers: prohibited standing beneath WADA guidelines and the identical security issues that apply to all shoppers. The compounds have been present in dietary dietary supplements and merchandise marked as “analysis solely”, creating publicity danger for athletes who might buy such merchandise for cognitive advantages with out understanding they’re consuming prohibited substances with no established security profile.

WADA-experienced lab entry, elevated product requirements, devoted scientists, early risk detection, and athlete-first method.

This example mirrors the sooner SARM contamination disaster. Analysis chemical substances developed for tutorial research enter grey markets, get integrated into dietary supplements (both deliberately or by means of manufacturing cross-contamination), and create issues that do not develop into absolutely obvious till athletes check constructive or hostile occasions emerge. By the point regulatory companies and certification packages catch up, new analogues with barely completely different chemical buildings have already entered the pipeline.

For WADA to explicitly title these compounds within the 2026 listing signifies they’re conscious of rising use patterns. For shoppers and athletes, the message is evident: these substances carry unknown dangers, lack security knowledge, and don’t have any professional place in dietary dietary supplements or cognitive enhancement merchandise regardless of their availability on-line.

Prohibited Strategies: Carbon Monoxide Addition

The 2026 listing provides non-diagnostic use of carbon monoxide (CO) to prohibited strategies. Whereas diagnostic makes use of for measuring whole hemoglobin mass or pulmonary diffusion capability stay permitted, utilizing CO to artificially improve oxygen-carrying capability is now explicitly banned.

The 2026 Monitoring Program: What WADA Is Watching

Alongside the Prohibited Checklist, WADA maintains a Monitoring Program monitoring substances not presently banned however monitored for potential patterns of misuse.[3] The 2026 program contains a number of noteworthy additions:

Markers of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide

Each in- and out-of-competition monitoring for these GLP-1 receptor agonists displays their rising use in weight administration. Whereas not presently prohibited, WADA is monitoring whether or not these medicines are being misused in sports activities contexts.

Ecdysterone Monitoring Continues

TruShield Certification Course of Steps

Ecdysterone, a compound present in some vegetation and marketed in dietary supplements for muscle-building results, stays on the monitoring program. Analysis has recommended potential anabolic results, although its prohibition standing hasn’t modified.

Caffeine Nonetheless Monitored In-Competitors

As mentioned in PricePlow Podcast Episode #193 with Lori Bestervelt and Thane Campbell, caffeine stays on the monitoring program regardless of being faraway from the prohibited listing in 2004. WADA continues monitoring caffeine use patterns in competitors, although the substance stays authorized at any dose.

The monitoring program demonstrates WADA’s proactive method to rising threats, figuring out potential issues earlier than substances develop into widespread efficiency enhancers.

Why “Shut Sufficient” Testing Is not Sufficient

Most established certification packages check for about 300 banned substances. Whereas this gives essential baseline safety, it leaves gaps: whole drug lessons that athletes may check constructive for regardless of utilizing “licensed” merchandise.

TruShield™ Licensed exams for over 400 prohibited substances, together with classes that different packages overlook:

Glucocorticoids: A category of corticosteroids that may improve efficiency and are prohibited by WADA in competitors
HIF stabilizers: Hypoxia-inducible issue stabilizers that manipulate the physique’s response to low oxygen ranges
Novel stimulants and analogues: Rising compounds just like the modafinil analogues now explicitly prohibited
Analysis chemical substances: Substances like BAM15 that exist in grey market areas

This complete method stems from TruShield’s distinctive basis: the certification program operates by means of EagleDX, a subsidiary of Sports activities Medication Analysis and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL), one in every of solely two WADA-experienced anti-doping laboratories in america. When skilled sports activities organizations want to analyze constructive athlete exams and analyze implicated dietary supplements, they ship samples to SMRTL’s laboratory.

“When somebody pops,” explains Thane Campbell, COO of SMRTL, “they don’t seem to be sending these dietary supplements over to different certification packages. They’re sending it to the SMRTL lab, as a result of they belief them.”

The TruShield™ Distinction: Banned Substance Testing and Solely Banned Substance Testing

Led by Lori Bestervelt, Ph.D., who spent 22 years as Chief Science Officer at NSF Worldwide the place she created NSF Licensed for Sport and the foundational NSF 173 commonplace, TruShield™ Licensed takes a targeted method to athlete safety.

In contrast to bundled certification packages that require manufacturers to repeat testing throughout a number of areas they could have already got coated (GMPs, label declare verification, contaminant testing), TruShield™ maintains singular focus: complete banned substance testing utilizing WADA-level methodologies.

Lori Bestervelt, the scientist behind the certification spent over twenty years at NSF Worldwide, the place she authored the trade’s foundational complement testing requirements earlier than launching this new program.

This method acknowledges that many corporations have already got strong high quality administration techniques and work with respected labs for different testing wants. What athletes want most is certainty that merchandise are free from the increasing listing of prohibited substances, examined with the identical rigor used to guard Olympic {and professional} competitors.

Batch-by-Batch Safety

TruShield™ requires testing for each manufacturing batch or lot, making certain constant verification moderately than one-time product approval. This ongoing vigilance acknowledges the truth of producing the place contamination can happen between batches or when gear is shared for a number of merchandise.

Each examined batch seems on TruShield’s web site for public verification, permitting athletes to substantiate the precise product they’re utilizing has been examined.

For Olympic Athletes: The Stakes in February 2026

Because the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Video games method, athletes face intense scrutiny. The IOC’s zero-tolerance coverage[4] mixed with the ITA’s complete testing program signifies that complement decisions require excessive diligence.

Athletes competing in WADA-regulated sports activities do not simply want dietary supplements that declare to be clear, they want merchandise examined towards the identical complete substance panel that laboratories use when analyzing blood and urine samples. They want certification backed by scientists who perceive the evolving panorama of prohibited substances and have entry to WADA reference requirements.

One contaminated complement can finish years of coaching and sacrifice. The distinction between making the rostrum and going through suspension usually comes right down to what athletes select to place of their our bodies within the months and weeks earlier than competitors.

For Manufacturers: Defending Athletes Protects Your Repute

WADA-experienced lab entry offers the certification restricted reference supplies and superior anti-doping protocols.

Manufacturers serving elite athletes, sports activities organizations, or group sponsorships face comparable stakes. A single contamination incident resulting in an athlete’s constructive check can harm fame for years and end in misplaced partnerships with leagues and groups.

TruShield certification demonstrates dedication to the very best testing requirements out there, going past fundamental necessities to offer complete banned substance screening aligned with what skilled sports activities organizations require when careers are on the road.

Early adopters like CON-CRĒT (whose founder Mark Faulkner co-founded Aegis Sciences Company, one of many trade’s pioneering anti-doping labs), RedLeaf Biologics with ReDaxin (the primary and solely clinically studied patented pink sorghum leaf extract made within the USA that is additionally the primary to make the most of TruShield™ certification), and Vireo (who licensed their progressive Amino Activ topical product) acknowledged this worth and selected testing that matches the rigor of elite athletic competitors.

But it isn’t only for sports activities dietary supplements, it is for any firm that cares about high quality. TruShield™ Licensed goes past dietary dietary supplements and substances and is ready to check OTC medication, homeopathic merchandise, antidoping assortment merchandise, and extra. An inventory of their licensed merchandise is on their web site at TruShieldCertified.com/certified-products.

Conclusion: When Careers Are on the Line, Testing Depth Issues

The 2026 WADA Prohibited Checklist taking impact represents one other evolution in anti-doping requirements, with new substances explicitly prohibited and others being monitored for potential misuse. As WADA’s science advances and new performance-enhancing compounds emerge, the hole between fundamental certification and complete testing continues to widen.

Lori Bestervelt, Ph.D., creator of the NSF 173 commonplace, and Thane Campbell from SMRTL introduce TruShield Licensed, testing dietary supplements for over 400 banned substances utilizing WADA-level methodologies on Episode #193 of the PricePlow Podcast.

For athletes getting ready for Milano Cortina 2026 or competing in any WADA-regulated sport, complement decisions require excessive diligence. For manufacturers serving these athletes, offering merchandise examined towards 400+ banned substances utilizing methodologies developed for skilled sports activities organizations is essential safety.

TruShield™ Licensed brings WADA-level testing experience to complement certification by means of its connection to one in every of solely two WADA-experienced anti-doping laboratories in america, staffed by devoted anti-doping scientists who perceive the evolving panorama of prohibited substances.

When an athlete’s Olympic dream is on the road, shut sufficient is not ok. The stakes demand complete testing from laboratories that perceive what’s in danger and have the experience to guard it.

Study Extra

For full background learn our introductory article on TruShield™ Licensed or take heed to PricePlow Podcast Episode #193 with Lori Bestervelt and Thane Campbell.

Manufacturers all for TruShield certification can go to TruShieldCertified.com to be taught concerning the certification course of and consider all licensed merchandise and examined heaps.

Subscribe under to remain up to date on TruShield developments and newly licensed merchandise: