A quarter of the New Zealand team was not tested for drugs before the Paris 2024 Olympics, according to data from the International Testing Agency (ITA).
This is significant because 90 percent of athletes worldwide were tested before the Games. Of the New Zealand athletes, 29 percent were tested once, while 46 percent were tested frequently.
New Zealand had the highest percentage of untested athletes among the top 25 nations from the last Olympics. In contrast, all athletes from Russia and Belarus were tested at least once, with 97 percent tested more frequently.
The ITA recommended that athletes in high-risk sports be tested at least three times before the Games. Among these athletes, 95 percent were tested at least once, 75 percent were tested three or more times, and less than 5 percent were not tested at all. Every surfer in Tahiti and nearly all weightlifters, marathon swimmers, and breaking athletes were frequently tested.
Chinese swimmers have been in the spotlight for doping, with 23 testing positive for a banned drug before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This year, 98 percent of China’s 405 Olympic athletes were tested. However, 20 percent of swimmers worldwide arrived at the Olympics without being tested.
Swimmer Lewis Clareburt, who is competing in three events, expressed doubts about the cleanliness of Olympic swimming. He emphasized the importance of athletes doing their best to stay clean and relying on officials to enforce anti-doping measures.
ITA director general Benjamin Cohen stated that the anti-doping program for Paris 2024 is the most robust ever. He highlighted the need for improvements in some areas to ensure fair and clean competitions.
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