What is doping?

According to the World Anti-Doping Code and the ICF Anti-Doping Rules, doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). Most commonly, this means a presence of a prohibited substance in an Athlete’s sample collected during Doping Control.

However, it’s not just a positive test that can result in a sanction. In fact, there are 11 Anti-Doping Rule Violations:

The principle of strict liability is applies to all Athletes who compete in any sport with an anti-doping program, including weightlifting. It means that each Athlete is strictly liable for the substances found in their urine and/or blood sample collected during doping control, regardless of whether the Athlete intentionally or unintentionally used a prohibited substance or method.

Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel and other groups who are subject to anti-doping rules all have rights and responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code. Part Three of the Code outlines all the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the anti-doping system.

The use of doping substances or doping methods to enhance performance is fundamentally wrong and is detrimental to the overall spirit of sport. Drug misuse can be harmful to an Athlete’s health and to other Athletes competing in the sport. It severely damages the integrity, image and value of sport, whether or not the motivation to use drugs is to improve performance.

This page shows now the new rules for 2025. For archived rules, mark-ups and changes, see the rules archive page.