Russian athletes' doping samples taken by FINA tested negative

Moscow: None of the 260 doping samples taken by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) from Russian sportspersons since early 2016 have tested positive, Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Tuesday.

FINA earlier published a press release, which said that the largest number of doping samples (260) out of a total of 1,817 tests had been taken from Russian sportspersons, reports Tass.

"FINA held additional tests. Russians had the largest number of samples taken from them, more than those taken from Chinese sportspersons but none tested positive," Mutko said.

Russian sport has been in the centre of doping-related scandals since last year. Starting this year doping control in Russian sports has been exercised by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) strictly under the supervision of the British anti-doping agency (UKAD).