Five athletes failed drug tests at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as reported by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on Thursday. The organisation’s anti-doping programme discovered 40 violations among the 6,130 samples collected, accounting for nearly 39% of the competing athletes.
More than 4,770 tests were carried out on 4,150 athletes, with urine, blood, and Dried Blood Spot (DBS) samples collected both during and outside competition periods. These periods spanned from the opening of the Olympic Village to the Closing Ceremony. The agency noted that almost 90% of participants were tested at least once before the Paris Summer Games commenced. This operation marked a 4% increase from the Tokyo 2020 Games and was 10% higher than Rio 2016.
The five positive drug tests in Paris, which involved anabolic steroids and a diuretic, were detected in two judo cases and one each in athletics, aquatics, and boxing. Athletes from Afghanistan, Bolivia, Congo, Iraq, and Nigeria were either excluded before their events or had their results nullified.
Among the suspended athletes are judoka Mohammad Samim Faizad and Nigerian boxer Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilore. Both were removed from participation, and their cases have been forwarded to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) or their respective federations for further prosecution.
The analysis of banned substances or methods on the 6,130 samples collected by a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Paris has been completed.
These samples, including select ones from the pre-Games testing programme, will be stored for a decade. They can be re-opened and re-examined when more advanced tests are developed or new intelligence becomes available.
