The WADA report says Russia had 167 ADRVs, with Italy and India following with the next highest figures on 157 and 152, respectively.

Russia and Italy had also occupied the top two positions in the 2018 report.

Brazil, Iran, France, United States, Kazakhstan, Poland and Ukraine completed the top 10.

Bodybuilding remains the sport with the highest number of ADRVs, with 272 recorded.

Athletics was second on 227, followed by cycling in third on 179, while weightlifting and powerlifting had 160 and 119, respectively.

The results of samples collected by North American organisations, which are not signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code are not considered the report, while some sports tested more frequently than others.

A total of 2,701 samples from 278,047 collected and analysed by WADA laboratories in 2019 were reported as adverse analytical findings (AAFs), or positive tests.

This compared to 2,771 in 2018.

The WADA said of the 2,701 AAFs, a total of 1,535 samples were confirmed as ADRVs leading to sanctions.

Male athletes were responsible for 1,183 ADRVs compared to 352 women, with cases across 83 sports and 115 nationalities.

A total of 297 samples were dismissed as valid medical reasons, 274 were found to have no case to answer, while 49 samples had no sanction due to an athlete being exonerated.

The remaining 546 samples are still pending.

A total of 2,035 AAFs from the 2,701 were reported in competition, leading to 1,195 ADRVs.

The remaining 666 AAFs were reported as out-of-competition which led to 340 ADRVs.

"Testing remains an important tool for anti-doping organisations to utilise in the protection of clean sport," said Olivier Niggli, WADA director general.

"In terms of the detection and deterrence of doping, there will always be a need for in-competition and no-notice, intelligence-based out-of-competition testing.

"This annual ADRVs report gives us a good insight into the outcomes of the testing programmes conducted by anti-doping organisations worldwide, particularly when read in combination with WADA’s 2019 Testing Figures report that was published in December 2020.

"One of the most significant aspects of the ADRVs Report for 2019 is the increase in the number of non-analytical ADRVs that we see.

"In total, there were 377, which is 94 more than in 2018 and represents a 34 per cent increase year on year.

"Many of these were determined by evidence gathered through intelligence and investigations.

"Clearly, the work of WADA I&I and similar teams within some anti-doping organisations in this area is delivering good results for clean sport."

The report can be accessed here.