May 6 (Reuters) - Swiss shoe company On has signed a partnership agreement with the Athletics Integrity Unit $(AIU)$ that will help fund extra anti-doping tests for its sponsored athletes.
The deal will expand the World Athletics' Registered Testing Pool(RTP) and strengthen the Road Running Integrity Programme, the AIU said.
On joined major sportswear brands Adidas, ASICS and Nike, which have committed financially to the programme since 2019.
The company, however, becomes the first to fund the inclusion of additional athletes in the RTP.
"This new initiative allows sponsors to ensure that their key athletes are subject to the most rigorous testing standards possible and has been approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a legitimate means of expanding the funding available for testing," the AIU said.
On will fund an additional six athletes in the RTP in 2025.
"To have an additional mechanism to expand the testing pool via third-party funding is obviously great news for the sport and a demonstration that integrity is being taken extremely seriously," AIU Head Brett Clothier said.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
((anita.kobylinska@tr.com; +48 58 769 65 38;))
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