LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The anti-doping program for the Paris Olympics caught five athletes after earlier finding 40 rule violations among competitors who had been expected to take part in the Games, the agency that ran the operation said Thursday.
Summing up its Olympic program, the International Testing Agency said 6,130 samples were collected during the Games period in July-August from 4,150 different athletes. The samples were of urine, blood and dried blood spot.
Taking samples from almost 39% of the athletes was “a 4% increase compared to Tokyo 2020 and 10% higher than Rio 2016,” the ITA said. The most tested nations were those with the biggest teams in Paris: the United States, France, China, Australia and Britain.
The agency said nearly 90% of athletes who took part were tested at least once before the Paris Summer Games opened.
“The ITA can also report over 40 anti-doping rule violations stemming from the testing activities implemented on behalf of its partners ahead of the Games pertaining to athletes who were likely due to participate,” it said.
The Games-time samples, plus selected ones from the pre-Games testing program, will now be stored for 10 years. They can be opened and re-analyzed when better tests are developed and new intelligence emerges.
The five positive tests in Paris came from two cases in judo and one each in track and field, aquatics and boxing. The substances involved were anabolic steroids and a diuretic.
The athletes, from Afghanistan, Bolivia, Congo, Iraq and Nigeria, were removed ahead of their event or had their results disqualified. Disciplinary cases are now being prosecuted, typically by their sport’s governing body.
The ITA was created by the International Olympic Committee in 2016 to bring more independence to global anti-doping and manage testing programs on behalf of sports bodies.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Fans wave French flags during a parade of French athletes who participated in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Paris. (Ed Jones/Pool Photo via AP)
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at 5% Thursday despite a big cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve, its first since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic more than four years ago.
The decision was widely expected amid ongoing concerns about inflation within the bank’s monetary policy committee, particularly the elevated levels in the crucial services sector, which accounts for around 80% of the British economy. Figures on Wednesday showed that inflation overall in the U.K. held steady at an annual rate of 2.2% in August, still above the bank’s goal.
Minutes to the meeting showed that eight of the nine members of the panel voted to keep rates unchanged, while one backed a quarter-point reduction.
“The economy has been evolving broadly as we expected. If that continues, we should be able to reduce rates gradually over time,” said Bank Gov. Andrew Bailey. "But it’s vital that inflation stays low, so we need to be careful not to cut too fast or by too much.”
The bank, which last month cut interest rates for the first time since the pandemic, is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs again at its next meeting in November, especially as it will have details of the government’s budget on Oct. 30.
On Wednesday, the Fed cut its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signaled that there will be more cuts to come in the next few months.
Central banks around the world dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs. As inflation rates have fallen from multi-decade highs recently, they have started cutting interest rates.
On Wednesday, the Fed became the latest major central bank to reduce borrowing costs, cutting its main interest by half of a percentage point to roughly 4.8% from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. It also signaled that there will be more cuts to come in the next few months.
The Bank of England is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs again at its next meeting in November, especially as it will have details of the government's budget on Oct. 30.
The new Labour government has said that it needs to plug a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) hole in the public finances and has indicated that it may have to raise taxes and lower spending, which would likely weigh on the near-term outlook for the British economy and put downward pressure on inflation.
Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at abrdn, formerly Aberdeen Asset Management, said the Bank of England "will need to incorporate any fiscal changes in its next forecasts, which could provide the foundation for more rapid cuts in due course.”
Bank of England widely expected to hold interest rates despite big US Fed cut
FILE - The Bank of England is pictured in London, on Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Bank of England widely expected to hold interest rates despite big US Fed cut
