IOC warns drug cheats that they will be caught sooner or later
Anti-doping agencies are changing tactics to concentrate more drug testing in lead up to contests as opposed to post-competition raids
The International Olympic Committee is adjusting its tactics at the Sochi Games to send a stark warning to potential doping offenders: "If we don't get you now then we will catch you later."
The IOC will be overseeing almost 2,500 doping tests at these Winter Olympics, with a reduced emphasis on post-competition tests and more on pre-competition in a bid to catch potential offenders unawares.
Meanwhile, greater use is being made of intelligence from various sources - including governments - to carry out target testing on suspect athletes.
Armstrong and his people were using the standard substances we can analyse. The only reason why they were never caught was because the labs never got the right samples
Testers are also being helped by new rules that will expand the statute of limitations on drug test samples to 10 years, meaning that the IOC will be able to carry out tests on the urine and blood samples taken in Sochi using new techniques that may arise.
"The message to athletes is that if you cheat and if we don't find you now, we may find you later. But we will certainly find you sooner or later," IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said in Sochi.
"This is an important deterrent message."
The IOC's medical director, Richard Budgett, said while the Olympic body was in charge of anti-doping, the actual testing was being carried out by the Sochi organisers and Russian anti-doping agency Rusada.
Rejecting concerns about Rusada's record, he said its Sochi lab was fully accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).