Who is drug testing Russia's athletes, now that they have returned to international competition?

Fresh questions have emerged over Russia's return to world sport after figures reviewed by DW showed that only four of the 16 Russian weightlifters competing at this year's world championships underwent out-of-competition testing by the International Testing Agency (ITA).

Two-time European champion Anastasiia Romanova, who previously served a two-year doping ban, was among those not tested by the ITA during the first nine months of 2026, according to its quarterly anti-doping reports.

By comparison, all 13 members of the North Korean team underwent at least one ITA test during the same period. North Korea, like Russia, has a history of doping violations in weightlifting.

The ITA, which runs weightlifting's anti-doping program, told DW that it tested all 16 Russian weightlifters "ahead of their participation in the event." DW understands those tests were conducted in Ningbo, China, where the championships are being held.

In a power sport like weightlifting, performance-enhancing drugs are most beneficial during training, when athletes build strength and muscle mass in the months before competition. Some drugs, such as anabolic steroids, may be harder to detect by the time the competition comes around.

Rob Koehler, head of the athlete-led movement Global Athlete, called the lack of out-of-competition testing "absurd."

"Out-of-competition testing is the backbone of anti-doping," Koehler told DW. "Everybody knows there's going to be testing at the event. But not everybody knows when they're going to be tested 365 days a year outside the events. It's concerning that the ITA doesn't see this as a red flag."

ITA: Russians among top 10 tested nationalities

Marta Nawrocka, the ITA's spokesperson, said that Russian athletes were among the ten most-tested nationalities in weightlifting this year. She also defended the fact that only two Russian weightlifters feature in the sport's highest-priority testing pool, saying inclusion is based on performance and risk profiles.

"Russia's history of doping in weightlifting remains an important factor in the ITA's risk assessment and testing priorities," Nawrocka said, adding that "Russian weightlifters remain subject to substantial testing activity."

Koehler, though, is unconvinced.

"You simply can't treat Russia like any other country," he said. "It has to have more scrutiny. It has to have more testing. If you don't do that, you're undermining athlete confidence in the system."

The International Weightlifting Federation did not respond to a request for comment.

Sochi's enduring legacy

Weightlifting was one of the sports most implicated in Russia's state-sponsored doping scandal, which came to light after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. It ranked second only to athletics for the number of positive cases identified by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren in his 2016 report commissioned by WADA, the global anti-doping watchdog.

The scandal led to dozens of Russian athletes being banned across numerous sports. RUSADA has remained suspended for most of the past decade.

As a result, its Moscow laboratory cannot analyze urine and blood samples, meaning samples collected by the agency must be sent abroad for analysis under what WADA described as a "strict chain of custody."

WADA said it continued to monitor RUSADA but had been unable to gain access to the country to review the agency's suspension because of the "ongoing geopolitical situation."

It added that RUSADA had "collected thousands of samples … including hundreds from weightlifters" so far this year.

"Given the history, WADA remains vigilant when it comes to Russia," James Fitzgerald, WADA's spokesperson, told DW. "We must ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to verifying that all the proper testing and other anti-doping activities are taking place."

Despite being suspended, RUSADA still has the power to investigate and prosecute anti-doping cases involving Russian athletes, which critics find difficult to reconcile.

"It's a compounding problem that WADA is still giving them a free pass when it can't even get into Russia to see what they're doing," said Koehler, WADA's former deputy director general.

"There's simply no oversight and no accountability. And quite frankly, I don't think there ever really has been."

RUSADA's independence under scrutiny

Critics also argue that ongoing questions over RUSADA's leadership and independence suggest that little has been fixed in the decade since the McLaren report.

Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC), whose president, Kirsty Coventry, supports the full return of Russian athletes, has acknowledged a "lack of confidence" over RUSADA's governance.

Nawrocka said the IOC had "recently entrusted" the ITA with an expanded role within Russia in the run-up to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, but did not explain what the role would involve or when it might begin.

In April, investigative outlet The Insider reported that Veronika Loginova, the head of the agency, was in a long-term relationship with an alleged FSB officer. The FSB, Russia's domestic security service, played a central role in covering up positive drug tests at the Sochi Games.

Loginova did not respond to questions for this article but dismissed the allegations at the time as "all this nonsense," writing in an email that she believed "sport exists separate from politics."

WADA would only confirm to DW that its investigations unit was examining the allegations against Loginova and that the inquiry was ongoing.