Medicine and TUEs

Medications prescribed by a doctor or bought directly over the counter may contain prohibited substances. It is the athlete’s responsibility to check their medication before using it, even if they have used it before.

It is also important to note that medications bought abroad may contain different substances to those bought in the UK.

You can check which medications are permissible on the Global DRO website.

Covid-19 Vaccines

You can now search for some Covid vaccinations within Global DRO.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (searchable as “COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2”) has a “not prohibited” status.

Supplements can be checked on the Informed Sport website, but please be aware this only minimises the risk if a product has been batch tested. No guarantee can be given that any particular supplement is free from prohibited substances, so it is key to assess the need, assess the risk and assess the consequences before you use supplements.

If you are still unsure, you can contact substanceenquiry@ukad.org.uk.

For updates on the Covid-19 vaccine and the Code, please click here.

Athletes who have a legitimate medical reason for using a prohibited substance or method which is on the prohibited list may still take a medication if they have a Therapeutic Exemption Use, (TUE) certificate in place.  TUE’s may take up to 30 days to be granted.

Using UKAD’s ‘Medicine’ hub athletes can navigate through six newly created sections. This new layout aims to take you through the TUE process in a logical order:

• Checking your medication
• Do you need a TUE? [TUE Wizard]
• National TUE Pool? [TUE Wizard]
• How to apply for a TUE? [TUE Wizard]
• What happens after your application has been submitted
• Special Topics

The TUE Wizard is an interactive tool designed to help athletes determine if they need a TUE, however, in accordance with World Taekwondo’s definition: most athletes who are competing in the UK will be seen as international level athletes and will need an international TUE from World Taekwondo.

Criteria for International Athletes

1. Athletes who hold the following licence: Global Athletes Licence (GAL).
2. Athletes that compete in events sanctioned or organised by World Taekwondo or where they are the ruling body.
3. All Athletes in the World Taekwondo registered testing pool and testing pool.

Athletes who meet one or more of the above criteria are considered to be international level athletes in accordance with World Taekwondo (WT) and therefore should apply directly to them by clicking here.

Unless they are an athlete within a GB Taekwondo programme (Academy or Development) in which case TUE applications should be sent to steve.green@gbtaekwondo.co.uk to determine whether the application should be submitted to UKAD or World Taekwondo (WT).