Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
I believe WADA will certify the test, and several other labs did testify, during the hearing, that they would interpret that same data as a positive.
In theory the actual tests, and therefore the standards, are determined by peer review and scientific studies. WADA will then say "yes, this test is reliable" or "no, it's not good enough."
Some of these tests are highly interpretive. I may be wrong, but the isotope test isn't too interpretive though -- either you have the isotopes associated with synthetic testosterone in your blood, or you don't. Isotope signatures are fairly unique.
My recollection is that one or two of Landis' defense witnesses suggested the technicians did not operate the machine properly. I don't remember anyone saying that the standards themselves were moving targets.
I believe an expert from the US lab at UCLA testified that the test would not have been a positive at his lab. The ratio standard is "hard" 4:1--but it does require interpetation to determine what ratio the sample actually has.
Landis' defense also brought out several other "irregularities" such as that the lab techs had the wrong software loaded into the machines, were not properly trained as to how to use the machines (did not have user manuals), some machines utilizing magnets still had some of the metal carrying handles attached to them, there had been a bacterial contamination of other samples at the lab the same summer Landis' samples were tested, the lab techs knew it was his sample, they tested his A sample 3 times and it came back 4.9:1, 5.1:1, and 11:1---but utilized only the last number. They also did more tests on previous B samples that suppossedly came back as "positive" even though the original A samples had not.
Whether Landis actually doped or not, no one will ever know. However, based on the testimony at the hearing, there is no doubt that this lab in france is run by a bunch of incompetent beancounters who don't follow their own internal procedures and never bother to properly train people. I wouldn't trust any "test results" that came back from that lab