Olympics 2018: Before the Winter Games: 14,000 doping tests in nine months

In the run-up to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang (9. till 25. The National Anti-Doping Agencies (NDAs) have carried out more than 14,000 doping tests with a total of around 6,000 different athletes from 61 countries.

This was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday.

“Protecting clean athletes is one of the IOC’s top priorities,” said Richard Budgett, scientific director of the IOC,”The number, scope and specificity of our pre-test program underscores the importance of intelligent and intensive testing through coordinated efforts with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The 14,000 pre-tests lasted from April to December 2017. This means that around 70 percent more tests were carried out than in the same period last year. According to the IOC, the number of tested athletes from Russia was twice as high in November and December as in no other country.