Many top Russian athletes faced minimal drug testing in 2023 ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Two of Russia’s top swimmers who could be eligible for the next year’s Olympics have been drug tested by their country’s anti-doping agency only twice apiece in 2023. It’s part of a larger trend in the country that adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the IOC’s recent decision to allow some athletes to compete in Paris. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency says it has administered some 10,500 tests in 2023. Among those tests, only two went to defending backstroke champion Evgeniy Rylov and 50-meter backstroke world-record holder Kliment Kolesnikov. Other findings are that a handful of fencers and gymnasts have faced three or fewer tests this year. Top American athletes have faced more than double the tests from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.