Paris, France - July 25, 2024

Director General of the International Testing Agency (ITA) Benjamin Cohen had outlined the measures taken to ensure a clean competition while respecting the rights and routines of athletes worldwide while shedding light on the heightened anti-doping efforts in preparation for the Olympic Games.

The International Testing Agency, an independent and top anti-doping organization, said that nearly 90 percent of athletes participating in the games were tested at least once since the beginning of the year. Over 30,000 tests were conducted on more than 11,000 provisional athletes.

During a press conference held in Paris on Thursday, the ITA responded to a question on the increased number of tests taken by Chinese swimmers.

"There is indeed a lot of tests being done. This is normal in a period before the Olympic Games. The ITA and all national anti-doping agencies in the world test a lot more. And so in this case, China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has also increased the number of tests. Now, I think you mentioned the case of Chinese Aquatics and there's been a decision to try and give as much trust to the international athlete's community that there is a good and solid follow-up on the Chinese delegation. So, there's certainly been, and World Aquatics has also announced that there's been more tests done by the ITA and CHINADA on these athletes. So, there's been more tests, but all swimmers and all athletes have had more tests than usual. And that's part of making sure that the games are clean," Cohen said.

"As anti-doping organizations, I think we need to find the right balance between testing athletes, protecting clean sports, but respecting the privacy of the athletes and also making sure that we do not disrupt their training activities, their sleep," he added.

The Paris Olympic Games are set to take place from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.

SHOTLIST:
Paris, France - July 25, 2024
1. Various of press conference in progress; audience;
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Cohen, director general, International Testing Agency (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"There is indeed a lot of tests being done. This is normal in a period before the Olympic Games. The ITA and all national anti-doping agencies in the world test a lot more. And so in this case, China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has also increased the number of tests. Now, I think you mentioned the case of Chinese Aquatics and there's been a decision to try and give as much trust to the international athlete's community that there is a good and solid follow-up on the Chinese delegation. So, there's certainly been, and World Aquatics has also announced that there's been more tests done by the ITA and CHINADA on these athletes. So, there's been more tests, but all swimmers and all athletes have had more tests than usual. And that's part of making sure that the games are clean.";
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
3. Various of press conference in progress;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
4. Cohen speaking;
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Cohen, director general, International Testing Agency:
"As anti-doping organizations, I think we need to find the right balance between testing athletes, protecting clean sports, but respecting the privacy of the athletes and also making sure that we do not disrupt their training activities, their sleep.";
6. Press conference in progress.

[Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]