Weightlifters from the Russian Federation who have returned to world sport are being selectively tested for drugs, DW has learned.
Only four of the 16 Russian weightlifters who participated in the recently concluded world championships in China were tested out of competition by the International Drug Testing Agency (ITA), DW has learned. Among those not tested by the ITA in the first nine months of 2026 was two-time European champion Anastasia Romanova, who previously served a two-year ban for doping.
The ITA, which is responsible for the anti-doping program in weightlifting, told DW that it had tested all 16 Russian athletes immediately "before they took part in the competition". These tests were carried out in Ningbo, China, where the World Cup was held. However, once a tournament begins, some substances, such as anabolic steroids, are much more difficult to detect if athletes take them earlier in training.
The head of the international athlete movement Athel World, Rob Koehler, called the lack of total control outside competition "absurd".
"All the athletes know that there will definitely be tests in the competitions themselves. But nobody knows when he can be tested on any of the 365 days of the year outside of tournaments," Koehler told DW.
The Russian weightlifting team is one of the ten teams whose representatives passed the most drug tests this year, the ITA told DW. In comparison, all 13 DPRK team members of 2026 passed at least one ITA test.
"You can't treat Russia like any other country. The control must be tighter, and the tests more intensive. If this is not done, then the confidence of the athletes in the system itself is undermined," says Koehler.
Details - on the DW website.