On the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s website there are the testing numbers from the last 15 years, broken down into in-competition testing and out-of-competition testing. There is also a breakdown of the number of tests administered within each sport since 2011.
Looking at the total number of tests administered, it is clear the number has had a steady rise up until last year. With 4738 in 2001, it has grown fairly consistently to 9497 last year, the most ever. 2005 through 2012 the totals were stagnant in the 8000-8500 range, but grew significantly the last two years with 9197 and 9497 in 2013 and 2014. In 2015 there has been 7597 tests administered through 3 quarters of the year. Going off average number of tests per quarter, we are on pace for the highest number of tests administered yet (10129). However, it is unfair to put that number on this year as the quarter-by-quarter numbers aren’t consistent. From 2001-2014, the number of tests has more than doubled going from 4738 to 9497. Take a Closer Look At the Graph
If we look closer at the number of in-competition versus out-of-competition tests, we’ll see a vast contrast between the two in terms of how much each has grown over the years.
Looking at the in-competition numbers, they haven’t changed much over 14 years. The graph is somewhat deceiving because the scale is so small. They have varied a little bit over the years, but have consistently been in the 3000 range. 2003 was the highest by far, with 3796. They were lowest between 2008 and 2012, all under 3000. Take a Closer Look at the Graph
Where the real change has happened is in out-of-competition testing. As doping has evolved, testers have realized it is possible for athletes to dope and have it undetectable when a competition rolls around. Due to this, out-of-competition testing has been ramped up since 2001. From 2001-2004, the number of tests administered outside of competition increased by about 1000 each year, going from 1422 in 2001 to 4399 in 2004, an Olympic year. We saw another large jump from 2007 (4998) to 2008 (5580), another Olympic year. The number has continued to increase, with 2014 being the highest yet (6292). Take a Closer Look at the Graph
Swimming specific data is only available since 2011, so there isn’t a large sample size to analyze. Similar to the numbers from all sports combined, in-competition testing numbers stay the same throughout the 4 years. We see out-of-competition numbers peak in 2012, the Olympic year, with 488. Take a Closer Look at the Graph