Olympics: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said today it would retest all frozen samples taken from athletes during the Beijing Games in August for traces of a new generation of drug.
The decision comes days after a string of positive cases involving the frozen samples of cyclists from this year's Tour de France, which was held in July.
The IOC will especially be looking for EPO CERA, a new performance-enhancing drug.
"The IOC intends to retest the samples collected this summer during the Olympic Games in Beijing," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said.
"Substances that will be tested for across all sports include EPO CERA."
Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator is a form of EPO that has a longer lasting effect in improving the blood's oxygen delivery system.
"All samples are currently being repatriated to the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)-accredited laboratory in Lausanne where Olympic samples are usually stored after the Games," Moreau said.
"The details of the retesting procedure are currently being discussed with WADA."
The IOC saw only a handful of positive tests in Beijing after extensive efforts to crack down on doping and avoid having the Games marred by cheats.
It implemented the biggest Olympic anti-doping testing programme to date with more than 5,000 tests during the Games and many more prior to the event, conducted on a national and international level.