IOC steps updrug tests aheadof Winter Games

LAUSANNE: More than 14,000 anti-doping tests on more than 6,000 athletes have been conducted in the lead up to the Winter Games in Pyeongchang next month, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.

The tests, conducted between April and December 2017, represent a 70 percent increase on the same period in 2016, the IOC said. Russian athletes were particularly targeted, twice as much as those from any other country in November and December. The country was banned from the Winter Games in early December by the IOC over state-sponsored doping, in particular at the last Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

More than 40 Russians who competed in Sochi have subsequently been banned for doping following the retesting of samples. It means Russia has lost 13 of the 33 medals originally won in Sochi. Athletes from 61 countries were tested in total.

“Protecting clean athletes by fighting doping is a top priority for the IOC,” said the Olympic body’s medical and scientific director Richard Budgett in a press release. “The sporting integrity of the Games is vital, and we are committed to working with our partners to ensure that Pyeongchang 2018 provides a level playing field for all clean athletes.” Although Russia has been banned from the Olympics, those athletes who have never failed a drug test can compete in South Korea under strict conditions. They will be allowed to compete as neutrals but will not be permitted to wear the Russian kit, use their country’s flag or hear its anthem should they win gold.

Those Russians present can expect to be tested even more as the IOC said it was operating “an improved intelligent testing system” in Pyeongchang and beyond. “This more targeted testing focuses on specific disciplines and nationalities that are at particular risk, as well as individual athletes and groups of athletes selected based on their ranking, and any suspicious change in performance or adverse testing history,” added the IOC.

Japan Olympic boss blasts drink-spiking canoeist: Japan’s Olympic chief has slammed a top canoeist for spiking a rival’s drink with a banned substance to scuttle his Tokyo 2020 selection hopes, describing his act as “unthinkable”.

The Japan Anti-doping Agency last week banned Yasuhiro Suzuki for eight years for putting a prohibited muscle-boosting agent into the drink bottle of fellow sprint canoeist Seiji Komatsu during a domestic competition last September.

Canoe officials branded Suzuki’s actions “evil” and Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) president Tsunekazu Takeda also blasted the disgraced athlete Friday, accusing him of bringing shame on Japan before next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

“For a scandal like this to break as we head to Pyeongchang is extremely sad,” Takeda told AFP.“It was an unthinkable act and totally goes against the spirit of the Olympics. It’s a real shame and we cannot afford to let this kind of thing happen ever again.”

Suzuki admitted to spiking the drink after receiving an intensive anti-doping lecture during a training camp, according to the federation.The Japan Canoe Federation could still impose a life ban on Suzuki, 32, citing a history of sabotaging rivals, sometimes by stealing their equipment.Komatsu won the race in September but was later provisionally suspended after he tested positive for the drug, which he strenuously denied using. His suspension has now been lifted.