The QUARTZ Program contributes to a doping-free sport and safeguards the health of all!
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The QUARTZ Program provides anti-doping protection for the sport of trail-running and safeguards the health of all!
The ITRA QUARTZ Program is run by the association Athletes For Transparency and the Ultra Sports Science foundation is responsible for the financial transparency of the Program. This unique program is divided into 3 sub-programs: QUARTZ Elite, QUARTZ Event and QUARTZ Regular and allows everyone to contribute to a sport without doping whilst safeguarding the health of the runners. In 2018, the QUARTZ program continued to expand and, in 2019, maintained its worldwide growth.
In 2019, The QUARTZ Elite monitoring program is extended to a growing number of athletes
Based on the ITRA Performance Index, the QUARTZ Elite program is offered free of charge to the top 10 athletes in the men's and women's rankings, respectively, and to the top 3 in each trail category, as well as to athletes returning from a suspension after having tested positive at a trail running event – a total of 57 athletes in 2019. If the athlete is ranked in more than one category, the selection will pass to the next athlete. The list of athletes who have responded to the invitation will be published in February.
=> For the first time in the history of sport, a discipline gives its elite athletes the chance to contribute actively to the fight against doping by signing up for a unique health monitoring program
Above, male and female athletes contacted to join the QUARTZ Elite program in 2019.
QUARTZ Elite, already a success in 2018!
In 2018, 40 elite athletes participated in the QUARTZ Elite program and 26 of them made their profile public. Thanks to this annual personalised monitoring, it is possible to identify profiles which might present potential health problems, to provide support for elite runners in the form of specific tests and to inform them about the risks associated with certain medications and nutritional supplements.
For further information, please visit our website:
- Link to the 40 elite athletes monitored:
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Link to the public profiles
QUARTZ Event in 2018
2018 also witnessed a considerable increase in the number of events that implemented the QUARTZ Event Program, with an accompanying increase in the number of tests that could be made.
QUARTZ Regular, a health program for all
All the runners who have set up an account on the ITRA website now automatically have a health space that is private and secure. This allows every runner to enter all his/her health details (specific illnesses, allergies, medications taken, medical certificates….) This confidential online medical file can be used at any event where the QUARTZ Event program is implemented.
Before the race, the medical director of the event can review the medical records on the updated health spaces and is thus able to exercise special care in the case of profiles found to be "at a greater risk". On the day of the race, if medical attention is required, the medical teams can access all the data and thus respond better to the needs of each runner.
At the UTMB in 2018, for the first time ever, the Logicoss software developed by the partner company Dokever made it possible to test real-time access to these health data.
A survey of Dokever staff indicated that 44% of the medical teams that responded to the survey had used this software, which allowed the medical records of runners to be checked directly and an accurate and rapid medical diagnosis to be made.
=> The QUARTZ Regular Program allows each runner to record all his/her health details for free in order to optimize any medical attention required during a race.
heck out the new website of the QUARTZ Program. Dedicated to the organizers, athletes and sponsors, the website explains the issues in detail and also explains all the features of this unique program: https://www.quartzprogram.org/