IOC to strengthen doping testing at Rio Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to test 4,500 urine samples and 1,000 blood samples at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Mr. Thomas Bach, called for a review of the entire doping monitoring system, as well as strengthening the fight against this problem in sports. The head of the IOC said that in the coming time, the agency will review the entire process and system of monitoring doping use, and increase the penalties for athletes who violate the law.

Mr. Thomas Bach's statement was made in the context that international sports federations are having to review each case of Russian athletes to allow them to compete at the 2016 Olympics due to evidence showing systematic doping in sports competitions in Russia.

The International Olympic Committee is stepping up doping testing at the Rio Olympics (Photo: Getty Images).

Also related to this issue, Mr. Thomas Bach affirmed that it is necessary to eliminate all cheating at the Olympics and expressed hope that Russia will cooperate in this fight. The IOC plans to conduct tests on 4,500 urine samples and 1,000 blood samples at the Rio 2016 Olympics. These samples will be stored for 10 years. In order to ensure maximum prevention of doping, the IOC also has a pre-testing program with more than 2,200 selected and monitored athletes.

In addition, the IOC has sent 700 additional testing requests to 13 international federations and 62 national anti-doping organizations for athletes from 96 different countries and conducted a comprehensive re-analysis of test samples collected from the previous two Olympic Games in London and Beijing. To date, more than 1,200 samples have been re-tested, with banned substances detected in 98 samples. More re-tests are expected to be conducted during this event and in the time after.

For the first time at the 2016 Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will impose sanctions on doping violations, rather than the IOC. To facilitate operations during the Games, CAS has opened two temporary offices in Rio de Janeiro. CAS said it can impose provisional suspensions on suspected cases until the legal proceedings are concluded.

According to VOV