Testing International reported in a press release published on Thursday, September 18, that around 39% of athletes were tested during the Paris Olympic Games, with five positive cases detected at this stage, compared to six cases seen in Tokyo in 2021. The anti-doping program during the Games.
According to ITA, a total of 6,130 samples (urine, blood, dried blood) were taken in 4,770 controls performed on 4,150 athletes. “the largest ratio” athletes were not tested at all (4% more than in Tokyo in 2021 and 10% more than in Rio in 2016). These checks took place between the opening of the Olympic village in mid-July and the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on 11 August.
ITA carried out targeted checks including: “almost two-thirds” during competition and the rest took place outside. The most tested countries include the United States, France, China, Australia and the United Kingdom. The most controlled sports are track and field, swimming, cycling, rowing and wrestling, in that order.
The ITA said the organization also conducted a testing program a few weeks before the Olympics, a very risky period, meaning that around 90% of the approximately 10,000 participants at the Paris Olympics (representing 200 countries) were tested at least once. Around forty anti-doping rule violations were recorded during this period. All samples collected during the Paris Olympics are stored for ten years in a secret ITA laboratory in Switzerland for re-analysis.
