Paris 2024: Controversy Erupts as 39% of Athletes Face Positive Testing Outcomes

2024-09-19 12:07:22

The International Testing Agency (ITA) announced on Thursday that 4,150 athletes were tested during the Olympic period, with five positive cases.

France Télévisions – Sports Editorial

Published on 19/09/2024 14:07

Reading time: 1 min

Samples collected by International Testing Agency (ITA) controllers during the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games (illustrative photo). (FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Nearly 39% of athletes were tested during the Paris Olympics with five positive cases detected at this stage, the International Testing Agency said on Thursday, September 19 (ITA) responsible for the anti-doping program during the Games.

A total of 6,130 samples (urine, blood, dried blood) were taken from 4,770 tests on 4,150 athletes, according to the ITA press release, which specifies that these are: “the greatest proportion” athletes never tested. These checks took place between the opening of the Olympic village in mid-July and the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 11.

The ITA carried out targeted checks including “nearly two thirds” took place during the competition itself, and the rest outside. Among the most tested countries are the United States, France, China, Australia and Great Britain.

She had also conducted a testing program several weeks before the Games, during a period known to be very high risk, which meant that around 90% of the approximately 10,000 participants in the Paris Olympics were tested at least once, she said.

ITA infographic on the anti-doping program at the Paris Olympics. (ITA)

ITA infographic on the anti-doping program at the Paris Olympics. (ITA)

During this period, around forty anti-doping rule violations were recorded, she added. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, six cases of doping were detected.

Created in 2018 and partly funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the ITA plans, organizes and manages the results of doping controls during the Games. It has already worked in Tokyo in 2021 and in Beijing in 2022. It also manages the anti-doping program for the Tour de France and several sports disciplines. At the Beijing Winter Games, the case of the young Russian skater Kamila Valieva, tested before the Olympics for trimetazidine, and suspended for four years since, hit the headlines.

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