The Buzz | Thirty-one caught in retests of 2008 Beijing Olympic samples

In a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years, 31 athletes in six sports could be barred from competing in this year’s Olympics after they were caught in retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games, and other positive cases could emerge from the 2012 London Games.
The International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings yesterday against the 31 unidentified athletes from 12 countries who competed in Beijing and were planning to take part in the Rio de Janeiro Games in August.
The IOC said it also planned to reanalyze drug tests from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The Olympic body stores samples for 10 years to allow for retesting with improved techniques, with athletes caught facing retroactive disqualification and loss of any medals. The IOC said it could not immediately identify the athletes caught in the Beijing retests for legal reasons.