He built the Swiss anti-doping system, now he would like to destroy it

When Matthias Kamber announced his departure as director of Antidoping Switzerland in April 2017, he was 63. During the transition period, according to those close to him, he repeatedly hinted that he had other plans for his professional life. What those plans were initially unclear. Later, it became clear: The pioneer in the fight against illegal substances in Swiss sports was, in a sense, switching sides.

Kamber initially suffered a setback in his second career. When sprinter Alex Wilson was suspected of doping in 2021, Kamber stepped in as a consultant. He leveled accusations against his successors at Swiss Sport Integrity (SSI) , while Wilson claimed that his positive test was due to the consumption of large amounts of beef. Later, the athlete spoke of an act of sabotage. Both theories were false: Wilson was working with an American dealer who supplied athletes with a whole mix of doping substances .

Things went much better for Kamber in the next publicly known case. After a trial that made SSI look bad, mountain biker Mathias Flückiger was acquitted of doping charges. Errors had occurred during the transport and storage of his sample.

It was previously known that Kamber had collected scientific evidence to support Flückiger's suspicion that his Zeranol test result in June 2022 could be explained by contaminated meat. Now, research shows that Kamber's involvement went beyond that. In September 2022, for example, he contacted the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to discredit his successors: SSI, according to Kamber, was not adhering to existing rules. According to a document he co-authored, he considered himself a whistleblower at that moment.

In total, Kamber invoiced 22,656 Swiss francs for his services in the Flückiger case. The Disciplinary Chamber of Swiss Sports ruled that only 1,500 of this amount should be reimbursed. In the justification for Flückiger's acquittal, the court stated that a review of Kamber's invoice "indicates more a case-related 'support' than necessary, expedient, and appropriate expenses for the trial." Various items were listed, such as "media conference" and "travel time for Thömus's lecture."

In other words, Kamber's efforts were far from limited to the actual procedure. He made considerable efforts to influence public opinion about SSI.

Kamber and other supporters of Flückiger aren't satisfied with the acquittal. In a 25-page document, they launch a head-on attack on SSI. The letter contains 51 suggestions for improvement. Point 44 reads: "It is appropriate that the director of SSI publicly acknowledge the mistakes made, apologize, initiate financial reparations, accept responsibility, and resign."

The next point is even more far-reaching than the demand that SSI CEO Ernst König resign. Due to the "incompetence in combating doping," it should be examined whether the Swiss authority should in future only deal with ethical violations and "at most, the testing of non-test pool athletes," i.e., the amateur sector. "The fight against doping among test pool athletes, however, should be outsourced. One possibility would be to commission the International Testing Agency (ITA), based in Lausanne, to carry out these Swiss tests."

The move marks a break with Kamber's previous efforts to establish a strong, independent anti-doping authority in Switzerland. He repeatedly protested against attempts by international organizations like WADA to interfere. Today, Kamber is attacking the system he himself created.

Combating doping at the national level is standard practice worldwide. The island nation of Vanuatu has its own agency for this purpose, as do communist North Korea and poverty-stricken Chad. It would be remarkable that Switzerland would delegate this task to a cross-border agency.

Kamber's former comrades, such as Corinne Schmidhauser, have distanced themselves from the idea. As president of the Swiss Anti-Doping Foundation, the former skier was, in a sense, his superior. "Kamber played a major role in building the anti-doping system in Switzerland," says Schmidhauser. "It's disconcerting how he positions himself today."

The lawyer believes the proposal to delegate anti-doping measures to foreign authorities is completely wrong. "In order to effectively combat illegal substances in sports, knowledge of the specific characteristics and specialties of each country is crucial." Proximity is needed. "Anyone who cares about the fight against doping cannot support such an initiative."

Kamber reiterated his demand in a telephone conversation. Later, he explained that he did not want to authorize his quotes, so the contents of the conversation may not be reproduced.

SSI Director Ernst König also declined to comment on the document. "We at Swiss Sport Integrity have not received this document," he said. He also left the call for resignation uncommented. König pointed out that WADA is currently revising its rules, including a public consultation: "Anyone interested can submit their suggestions there."

There is considerable confusion about the initiative within SSI. In discussions, it is pointed out that the agency conducts 400 to 500 doping tests each year for third parties, such as event organizers, international federations, and also for the ITA agency. The regular assignments clearly indicate that SSI's work is valued, they say. Especially since they pay Swiss wages and are accordingly expensive. It is also emphasized that SSI received top marks last year after a multi-day visit by WADA experts.

Some of Flückiger's team's suggestions seem logical with regard to the proceedings against the mountain biker. For example, the authors suggest a 72-hour deadline from the time the athlete is informed to the time the information is published. This would allow those involved to investigate.

Things were different for Flückiger: His association, Swiss Cycling, was informed of his suspicious sample on the eve of the European Championships in July 2022. Immediately afterward, several key players publicly spoke of a "positive" result. This was false and, from Flückiger's perspective, damaging to his reputation: Due to the low concentration, the result was merely "atypical."

In February 2025, at the invitation of Swiss Olympic, a discussion took place, which was also attended by SSI Director König and Flückiger. The meeting agreed on several reform proposals, including a streamlining of doping procedures. In the future, these should be completed within four to six months.

Marathon runner Matthias Kyburz also attended the meeting as a representative of the Swiss Olympic Athletes' Commission. He welcomes the planned acceleration of the process. "Another lesson for us from the Flückiger case is that athletes need to be better informed about their rights," says Kyburz. "Training sessions should address the options available to defend themselves in the event of an atypical or positive test." The multiple orienteering world champion also believes the call for longer embargo periods for communicating suspected cases is correct.

However, Kyburz, on behalf of the Swiss athletes, distances himself from the more far-reaching proposals. He states that they believe that a "Flückiger case" should not happen again. But: "The Athletes' Commission does not support the call for personnel consequences and a radical restructuring at SSI. We have confidence in the Swiss anti-doping system. In our opinion, its representatives are doing a good job, especially when compared to other countries."

Kamber also rebuffed Swiss Olympic. A spokesperson for the umbrella organization stated in response to an inquiry that they were aware of his document. Measures agreed upon at the February meeting would be implemented as quickly as possible. They were not addressing the additional demands: "There is no dialogue specifically on these points." The Federal Office of Sport issued a similar statement: "What was decided at the round table is decisive."

Kamber, the once highly esteemed doping hunter, no longer has any support in the scene.

An article from the « NZZ am Sonntag »