# Who is drug testing Russia’s athletes, now that they have returned to international competition?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-is-drug-testing-russias-athletes-now-that-they-have-returned-to-international-competition/
- Published: 2026-11-05T14:51:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T15:40:12+00:00
- Original publisher: DW (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.dw.com/en/who-is-drug-testing-russia-s-athletes-now-that-they-have-returned-to-international-competition/a-79862467?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
- Topics: Europe, Health, Medicine, World

## Key points

- Only four of 16 Russians had ITA out-of-competition tests by September.
- The ITA says it tested the whole team before the championships.
- Russia’s doping history and suspended agency continue to raise oversight concerns.

## Summary

DW’s review of anti-doping records found that only four of Russia’s 16 weightlifters at this year’s world championships had received out-of-competition testing by the International Testing Agency (ITA) in the first nine months of 2026. The finding has renewed concerns about oversight as Russian athletes return to international sport, given Russia’s record of doping violations and the importance of testing during training.

The ITA said it tested all 16 Russians before the championships in Ningbo, China, and said Russian weightlifters were among the ten most-tested nationalities this year. It cited risk and performance profiles to explain why only two Russians were in its highest-priority testing pool; all 13 North Korean competitors had received at least one ITA test during the same period. Russia’s anti-doping agency remains suspended, its laboratory cannot analyse samples, and WADA says it cannot enter the country to review the suspension.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.