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Doping scandal in Russian sports

Russian Anti-Doping Agency inspectors collect over 11,100 doping samples in 2025

The Russian governing anti-doping body also reported earlier this month that the agency’s inspectors recorded 109 suspected violations of anti-doping regulations by Russian athletes over the past year

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Last year the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) collected over 11,120 doping samples from Russian athletes, the agency’s press office announced to TASS in a statement on Friday.

"RUSADA collected 467 doping samples in December, which brings the total number to 11,119 over the 12 months of 2025," the statement reads.

The Russian governing anti-doping body also reported earlier this month that the agency’s inspectors recorded 109 suspected violations of anti-doping regulations by Russian athletes over the past year.

In 2024, RUSADA reported detecting 102 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance-enhancing drugs. In 2023, RUSADA reported an overall total of 150 potential violations involving such substances. The figure for 2022 stood at 135.

RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova earlier told TASS that suspected anti-doping violations involved the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents, as well as meldonium, a prohibited substance.

The drug meldonium (mildronate) was placed on WADA’s prohibition list on January 1, 2016. The presence of this substance in an athlete’s bloodstream during and between competitions is a violation of the anti-doping rules. Meldonium is categorized by WADA’s blacklist as an S4 class substance (hormones and metabolic modulators).

Mildronate is a cardiovascular medication freely available for purchase at pharmacies across Russia without a doctor’s prescription.

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