The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reevaluate samples taken from athletes at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. The goal of the reanalysis is to use better technology to “prevent athletes who cheated in London or Beijing, and got away with it because we didn’t have as advanced methods of analysis as we do now, from competing in Rio de Janeiro,” IOC Medical and Scientific Director Budgett said.
The WADA task force, in conjunction with the IOC, has identified the sports and athletes whose samples will be retested. Budgett indicated that the results of these retests will available in a few weeks or months.
Budgett concluded, “We are trying passionately to protest those clean athletes who are going to Rio 2016 and the best way to do that is to catch the cheats and deter the cheats before we get to Rio de Janeiro. So that’s why we launched this initiative with the task force even before the Olympic Games open.”
