31 sportsmen from 12 different countries and 6 different sports have been caught as the International Olympic Committee retested 454 anti-doping samples taken from athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"All these measures are a powerful strike against the cheats we do not allow to win. They show once again that dopers have no place to hide. The re-tests from Beijing and London and the measures we are taking following the worrying allegations against the laboratory in Sochi are another major step to protect the clean athletes irrespective of any sport or any nation. We keep samples for 10 years so that the cheats know that they can never rest," said IOC president Thomas Bach.

The 31 were caught in new tests on 454 Beijing samples using "the very latest scientific analysis methods," the International Olympic Committee said. After an executive board meeting, a statement was released where no suspected sportsmen's names were released. The IOC also warned that it will start "a wider re-testing programme of medalists from Beijing and London. The samples of athletes who could be awarded medals following the disqualification of others will also be retested."