What Is A Whereabouts Failure?

After every new Whereabouts Failure case — such as the news of Gabby Thomas missing 3 doping tests in 2019 — there are many fans that are left asking, “What is a whereabouts failure exactly?”

Whereabouts failures are a crucial instrument in USADA’s toolkit, they hold athletes accountable to testing dates so that they can’t just run away from a possible positive test.

Now, 1 missed filing date (that is filing your locations for the quarter) or 1 missed test isn’t enough to trigger a ban. According to USADA, “Any cumulation of three Missed Tests or Filing Failures in a 12-month period can result in a potential ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) and a period of ineligibility of up to two years for a first violation.”

Does a Whereabouts Failure = a positive doping test?

Not exactly, while a first violation for both a Whereabouts Failure and testing positive for banned substances are the same, we can never assume that someone was on a banned substance for missing multiple test. Is it suspect? Absolutely. Is it hard to fathom that a professional athlete would be careless enough to not update their location with USADA? 100%. However, we can never assume something in the absence of evidence.