USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body of track and field, road racing and race walking, on Wednesday issued a formal request to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to have effective EPO testing performed at U.S. domestic events.

"Upon learning that IDTM, the world's leading drug testing collection enterprise, is fully prepared to collect specimens for EPO testing, we ask that all drug testing organizations include EPO testing as part of their in and out-off-competition testing protocol," states the letter from USATF CEO Craig Masback to the three organizations. "We would ask, in particular, that this testing be conducted at all USATF championship events in distances of 800 meters and longer, including all road race events."

The letter was sent to USADA CEO Terry Madden, WADA Chairman Dick Pound, and IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai. It comes seven months after USATF made a written request to WADA on March 7 to have EPO testing conducted at all major marathons worldwide.

"USA Track & Field feels strongly that steps should be taken at all levels - not just at world championship events - to ensure that athletes are not using EPO," Masback says. "Eliminating EPO from track and field benefits all American track and field athletes."

USADA assumed all anti-doping duties in the United States, including testing of and adjudication for track and field athletes, in October of 2000. The United States reportedly is one of fewer than 20 IAAF member federations that conducts random, unannounced out-of-competition domestic drug testing of its athletes.