The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) publishes a list of all athletes drug tested in each quarter of each year. The numbers for the fourth quarter of 2016 have been published, with multi-time Olympians Katie Ledecky and Ryan Lochte each leading the way with three tests.
70 swimmers were tested a total of 78 times in the fourth quarter, which spans from October 1 through December 31. The full list is available through a search by following this link.
That’s less tests than were carried out in each of the first three quarters, but more athletes tested than Quarter 3, where a huge number of athletes were tested more than once. That likely comes because of a huge bump in in-competition testing during the Olympics and the U.S. Olympic Trials, along with meets like U.S. Open. Here’s a look at the testing numbers by quarter for the year 2016:
| Quarter | Dates | Tests | Athletes Tested |
| Q1 | Jan 1 – March 31 | 189 | 99 |
| Q2 | April 1 – June 30 | 325 | 144 |
| Q3 | July 1 – Sept 30 | 88 | 55 |
| Q4 | Oct 1 – Dec 31 | 78 | 70 |
| All 2016 | 680 | 209 |
A few important notes about this data:
- It only includes tests from quarter 4. Any tests performed prior to October 1, 2016 do not appear (unless you search specifically for an earlier quarter or year).
- It only includes tests performed by USADA. High-level athletes can also be tested by a number of other agencies: FINA, WADA, the NCAA, the IOC, etc. USADA only tracks those tests it called for. Occasionally, an outside organization will work with USADA, having the U.S. agency test an athlete for the outside organization. USADA does not include these tests in the totals shown on the site.
- It includes both in-competition and out-of-competition tests. USADA can randomly test athletes outside of competition based on filed whereabouts information. Other tests come from meets themselves, where athletes will be selected for drug testing following a swim.
The most-tested athletes in this list are Ledecky and Lochte, each of whom has been tested 3 times since October. Ledecky has been competing regularly in the NCAA which gives her more opportunities for in-competition tests. Lochte, meanwhile, hasn’t competed at all, as he’s serving a suspension for his role in the scandal involving alleged vandalism of a gas station bathroom in Rio after the Olympics.
Other swimmers tested twice by USADA in the fourth quarter: Nathan Adrian, Bowe Becker, Missy Franklin and Tom Shields.
Totaling up all four quarters of 2016, here are the most-tested athletes for the year based on USADA’s data:
| Athlete | Tests |
| Katie Ledecky | 19 |
| Nathan Adrian | 16 |
| Missy Franklin | 16 |
| Ryan Lochte | 15 |
| Dana Vollmer | 14 |
| Conor Dwyer | 13 |
| Cody Miller | 13 |
| Michael Phelps | 13 |
| Tom Shields | 13 |
| Simone Manuel | 12 |
| Elizabeth Beisel | 11 |
| Connor Jaeger | 11 |
| Tyler Clary | 10 |
| Anthony Ervin | 10 |
| Chase Kalisz | 10 |
| Melanie Margalis | 10 |
| Ryan Murphy | 10 |
| Josh Prenot | 10 |
| Kelsi Worrell | 10 |
AB
And I go through security screening every time I fly.
Bowe Becker swims for Minnesota, but has not (yet anyway – we shall see) achieved the prominence of the others, so wonder why he was tested so much?
Coach Mike – Becker won two events at Winter Nationals. If I were a betting man, I’d guess his tests came after one or both of those wins.
Thank you