Doping agency asks athletes for information

As the Lance Armstrong doping affair continues to be in the spotlight, the re-examination of samples from the 2004 Olympics has already made some headlines (for instance, first placed shot putter Yuri Bilonog may well have to hand his gold medal to Adam Nelson), a re-test of  hammer thrower Olga Kuzenkova’s 2005 World Championship sample came up positive, Russian hammer thrower Kirill Ikonnikov (5th at the London Olympics) has recently been suspended after failing an IAAF test in October, Russian discus thrower Darya Pishchalnikova has also been suspended by the IAAF after a re-analysis of a May 2012 sample, doping seems to be a huge problem in the US college system, of late even the Pope has taken to weighing in on the issue, and WADA has suspended the accrediation of a Spanish doping lab whilst Qatar has opened the first lab in the Middle East,  the German anti-doping agency (NADA) has taken the unprecedented step of appealing in an open letter to athletes to assist in the fight against doping with any information that could help to uncover doping offences, even if they do so anonymously. The agency promises to support athletes who do come forward, including possibly more lenient sanctions, and witness protection arrangements are also on the table.