The IOC reports more a than six-fold increase in anti-doping and medical expenditure for Tokyo2020 and Pyeongchang 2018 versus Rio 2016 and Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images

A reassessment of the likely cost of past Olympic Games anti-doping efforts has triggered a substantial increase in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) reported expenditure on medical and doping control programmes in the last - five-year - Olympic cycle.

insidethegames analysis of successive IOC financial reports reveals spending of $27.7 million (£22 million/€25.8 million) on these programmes over the 2017-2021 period, covering the Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020 Games.

This compares with just $4.53 million (£3.6 million/€4.2 million) over the 2013-2016 quadrennium which included the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 events.

That is equivalent to a more than six-fold increase.

In 2013-2016, the relevant line in the accounts was labelled simply "contribution to anti-doping programme".

The increase between 2014 - $755,000 (£600,000/€705,000) - and 2018 - $18.55 million (£14.75 million/€17.3 million) - was particularly sharp, with the latter figure nearly 25 times higher than the former.

Asked about this, the IOC has disclosed that in 2018 it "conducted a full reassessment of the previous Olympic Games' provision for doping control programmes in consideration of relevant information (including Sochi 2014 cases, recent International Testing Agency (ITA) agreements and increased future reanalysis)".

Nijat Rahimov, centre, is among athletes to have been stripped of Rio 2016 medals over doping offences ©Getty Images
Nijat Rahimov, centre, is among athletes to have been stripped of Rio 2016 medals over doping offences ©Getty Images

This, it said, had "resulted in an increase in provision for past Games (Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016).

"Therefore, the line 'Medical and doping control programme' in the IOC consolidated financial statements 2018 includes not only the specific provision for the PyeongChang 2018 doping control programme, but also the increased provision for past Games programmes".

A note to the accounts explains that a provision is recorded when "a present obligation has arisen as a result of a past event, financial outflow is probable, and the amount can be estimated reliably".

The note further states: "The Group recorded a provision for the Olympic Games doping control programme, representing the Group’s obligation to conduct a doping control programme for each Olympic Games edition aligned with the World Anti-Doping Code.

"Management judgements are used to estimate the doping control programme costs.

"The number of cases is estimated based on the total reanalysis samples for each Games and historical results."

The IOC
The IOC "conducted a full reassessment of the previous Olympic Games' provision for doping control programmes", which led to the increase in allocated spending ©Getty Images

A separate note quantifies the non-current doping control provision at end-December 2021 at $6.66 million (£5.3 million/€6.2 million).

This is down from $15.77 million (£12.5 million/€14.7 million) at end-December 2018.

The reanalysis of stored samples using newly-developed techniques has in recent years proved a relatively effective method of detecting past use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Dozens of medals from past Games have been stripped and reallocated.

The allegedly flawed Sochi 2014 anti-doping operation has been at the heart of the long-running and deeply-damaging Russian doping crisis.