The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has released athlete-specific testing information from January 1st 2024 to March 31st 2024.
All numbers are with regards to international testing and are not inclusive of national testing figures.
Hundreds of athletes were tested during these three months, both in and out of competition, but it was Loredana Toma (ROU -71), the two-time world champion and ex-world record holder from Romania, who received the most tests; seven in total.
There is a rough correlation between ability level and number of tests, which makes sense because medalists are tested more frequently in competition. However with China receiving relatively few tests compared to most other nations, in part due to their absence from the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2024, many of the world number ones received just one or two tests. The best weightlifters in the world were, in general, tested more than the rest (with one notable exception, see below).
The Most Drug-Tested Weightlifters of 2024 (so far!)
7 tests | Loredana Toma (ROU -71)
6 tests | Marie Fegue (FRA -71)
6 tests | Mihaela Cambei (ROU -49)
5 tests | Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (INA -73)
5 tests | Rustam Djangabaev (UZB +109
5 tests | Romain Imadouchene (FRA -89)
5 tests | Karlos Nasar (BUL -89)
5 tests | Nina Sterckx (BEL -49/59)
5 tests | Doston Yokubov (UZB -73)
4 tests | Karim Abokahla (EGY -89)
4 tests | Sara Samir Ahmed (EGY -81)
4 tests | Yenny Alvarez (COL -59)
4 tests | Sharofiddin Amriddinov (UZB -109)
4 tests | Bozhidar Andreev (BUL -89)
4 tests | Akbar Djuraev (UZB -109)
4 tests | Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB -61)
4 tests | Eko Yuli Irawan (INA -61)
4 tests | Tursunoy Jabborova (UZB +87)
4 tests | Jang Yeon-hak (KOR -102)
4 tests | Surodchana Khambao (THA -49)
4 tests | Kim Su-hyeon (KOR -81)
4 tests | Solfrid Koanda (NOR -87)
4 tests | Varazdat Lalayan (ARM +109)
4 tests | Sergio Massidda (ITA -61)
4 tests | Gor Minasyan (BRN +109)
4 tests | Masanori Miyamoto (JPN -73)
4 tests | Ruslan Nurudinov (UZB -109)
4 tests | Park Hye-jeong (KOR +87)
4 tests | Antonino Pizzolato (ITA -89)
4 tests | Marin Robu (MDA -89)
4 tests | Lasha Talakhadze (GEO +109)
4 tests | Loa Dika Toua (PNG -49)
4 tests | Keydomar Vallenilla (VEN -89)
4 tests | Won Hyon-sim (PRK -45)
4 tests | Mirko Zanni (ITA -73)
After taking a look through all of the data and compiled a list of the 10 largest teams by number of athletes. It happened that the cut-off point were teams of 12+. We then ranked them by the average number of tests each athlete has received during the three months in which the drug testing took place.
No. of Tests Per Athlete Based on the 10 Largest Teams
3.00 | Uzbekistan | 39 tests, 13 athletes
2.77 | North Korea | 36 tests, 13 athletes
2.38 | USA | 31 tests, 13 athletes
2.06 | South Korea | 33 tests, 16 athletes
2.00 | Armenia | 24 tests, 12 athletes
1.93 | Egypt | 27 tests, 13 athletes
1.92 | Thailand | 23 tests, 12 athletes
1.73 | Venezuela | 26 tests, 15 athletes
1.43 | Colombia | 33 tests, 23 athletes
1.24 | China | 21 tests, 17 athletes
A Few Interesting Points Regarding the Findings:
- Team China did not compete at the Asian Weightlifting Championships which might explain their lower number of drug tests
- The North Korean weightlifting team has now re-entered the testing pool. A mixture of their frequent competitions and number of gold medals put them near the top of the list.
- Uzbekistan received the most number of drug tests both in total and also per athlete with 39 and 3.00 respectively. Perhaps their hosting of the Asian Championships led to more in-competition tests. Note: Ruslan Nurudinov (-109) was tested 4 times and hasn’t even competed.
- Tian Tao (CHN -89) was not tested during this period
Testing Frequency of the Number One Ranked Athlete in Each Olympic Category
Women’s no.1s
1x | Hou Zhihui (CHN -49)
2x | Luo Shifang (CHN -59)
3x | Olivia Reeves (USA -71)
2x | Neisi Dajomes (ECU -81)
2x | Li Wenwen (CHN +87)
Men’s no.1s
2x | Li Fabin (CHN -61)
2x | Rizki Juniansyah (INA -73)
5x | Karlos Nasar (BUL -89)
2x | Liu Huanhua (CHN -102)
4x | Lasha Talakhadze (GEO +109)
Check out the full document here.
