This is how anti-doping was done in Paris: 6,130 samples, 5 positives… and 10 years of review

The anti-doping programme developed at the Paris Olympic Games detected five positives, after having located 40 violations of the rules among competitors who were scheduled to participate in the Games, according to a report on Thursday by the agency that led the operation.

Thus, the International Control Agency said that 6,130 samples were collected during the Games period in July and August 4,150 different athletes. The samples were urine, blood and dried blood stains.

The sampling of almost 39% of athletes represents “an increase of 4% compared to Tokyo 2020 and 10% higher than Rio 2016,” the body said. The most tested nations were those with the biggest teams in Paris: the United States, France, China, Australia and Great Britain.

The agency said that almost 90% of the athletes who participated were monitored at least once before the opening of the Games. “The ITA can also report more than 40 anti-doping rule violations arising from testing activities implemented prior to the Games in relation to athletes likely to participate,” he said.

The samples taken at the Games, in addition to those selected from the pre-Olympic control program, They will now be stored for 10 years. They can be opened and re-analyzed as better evidence is developed and new information emerges.

The five positive tests in Paris occurred in two cases of judo and one each in athletics, swimming and boxing. The substances involved were anabolic steroids and a diuretic.

The athletes, from Afghanistan, Bolivia, Congo, Iraq and Nigeria, were expelled before their event or their results were disqualified. Disciplinary cases are now being processed, usually by the governing body of their sport.

The ITA was created by the International Olympic Committee in 2016 to bring greater independence to global anti-doping and to manage testing programmes on behalf of sporting bodies.