Fight against doping? Good but not very good one might say reading the final report of the International Testing Agency (Ita) on the anti-doping control monitoring program conducted before the Paris 2024 Olympics. The data shows that 10% of the athletes participating in the games did not undergo doping control in the six months preceding the event. Out of 10,720 athletes, 1,108 were not tested. In the breakdown by continent where it emerges that 30% of the African athletes present at the Olympics were not checked. Oceania follows with 19%, the Americas at 11%, Asia at 7% and Europe at 6%. Of those tested, 59% were tested by their respective national anti-doping agency and 41% by the International Federation. In national delegations of more than 300 athletes, Australia stands out with 13% of athletes who were not subjected to checks, followed by Great Britain with 7% and France with 6%. Italy is at 1%, i.e. 3 athletes out of 403 present not tested. The National Olympic Committee that sent almost all uncontrolled athletes to the Games was Mali with 91%, or 21 uncontrolled out of a contingent of 25. Zambia follows with 68%. Good but not very good therefore because it is clear that there is a two-speed fight against doping with more widespread and widespread controls in the more advanced nations, so to speak, but which in reality are the richer ones and which allocate more funds to anti-doping. And so it is worth a reflection that concerns not the professional athletes who are rightly, very rightly monitored, but the amateurs. Anti-doping controls in the amateur world are not pressing or frequent but they are there. And in any case they absorb structures, people, money. All “energy” that would be better used to give all those countries that cannot afford it the opportunity to control their professional athletes. If there is not enough money to monitor the professionals, not even a penny should be spent to do so among the amateurs. Anti-doping among amateurs is a wasted resource. First because it is absurd for an amateur to use doping, because it is difficult to understand what is the driving force in the head of those who decide to risk their lives to put their wheel ahead of that of many other tapascioni. The problem of doping among amateurs, regardless of how anyone thinks, should be a “non-problem”. Anti-doping federations and authorities should be concerned about investing money and energy for controls not among amateurs who mimic the champions but among professionals and young people, because competitive activity is their stuff. In the amateur world the good rule of sport as fun, well-being, also as healthy competitive spirit applies because it is nice to “play” among friends but the prize can only be a pizza or a drink. And those who don’t give up or don’t get there are free to “bomb themselves” to win the furniture store trophy, the ham, a couple of provola cheeses… Do-it-yourself doping is a stinking plague. But it’s at your own risk, so it’s not worth wasting time and money on