Athletics chiefs defend decision to scale back testing at Worlds
Athletics chiefs at the IAAF have risked further controversy on the eve of the World Championships by revealing the abandonment of its policy to blood test every competitor.
Only a third of the athletes competing in Beijing are set to have their blood samples scrutinised, which is in contrast to the previous two World Championships in Daegu in 2011 and Moscow in 2013 where every athlete did.
The move comes amid the ongoing doping furore currently engulfing athletics, which last week saw 28 athletes from the 2005 and 2007 World Championships suspended on suspicion of taking banned substances.
But world governing body the IAAF insists the revised system is merely a shift in emphasis towards targeted blood testing, while no changes have been made in terms of urine screening for the World Championships, which start on Saturday.