Leading up to this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has retested 454 doping samples from athletes who participated in the Beijing, London, or Sochi Olympics and could compete in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Thirty-one of the samples that were retested came back positive for cheating drugs, according to a statement released Tuesday by the IOC.
News of the retests follows information that came to light last week regarding possible false testing and testing cover-ups at an anti-doping lab in Sochi, according to the IOC.
In its statement about the retests, the IOC focused on their desire to protect athletes who do not use doping methods in order to enhance their athletic performance. IOC president Thomas Bach stated,
The IOC's statement further noted that all athletes who are found in violation of anti-doping rules will not be allowed to participate in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Names of athletes and the countries they represent were not named, but the IOC says athletes across six sports were tested positive for doping.
More tests are forthcoming, as the IOC plans to retest at least 250 samples from the London Games as well.
The International Olympic Committee did not immediately reply to Complex's request for comment.
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