Cheaters are warned: the International Control Agency (ITA) will not let them go. It announced in a statement that they have been tasked by the IOC, with the support of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), to set up and manage a global program for long-term storage and re-analysis of samples. It will be rolled out at the Tokyo Games next year and future editions of the Olympic event, both summer and winter. The samples will be kept in a specialised center for further analysis, for a period of 10 years. Current and future ITA partners will be able to access sample storage at this center and its re-analysis services as needed to strengthen their anti-doping programs. The method has already proven its worth, with the IOC having discovered more than 130 anti-doping rule violations after an post-analysis of samples taken at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games.
