WADA publishes 2023 Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) today published its 2023 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) Report, which are the official set of such figures under the World Anti-Doping Code. As with previous years, the Report is available in a PDF version as well as a dynamic Excel version that illustrates the ADRV results in an interactive fashion. 

The 2023 Report contains all ADRV decisions reported to WADA by Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs). These decisions include those from AAFs reported in samples collected by ADOs, as well as from non-analytical ADRV decisions rendered in 2023.

The 2023 Report includes all decisions received by WADA’s Legal Affairs Department up to 15 October 2025 and highlights that there was a total of 2,005 ADRVs recorded in 2023. This represents an increase from the 2022 figure of 1,652. The ADRVs involve individuals from 124 nations and across 94 sports/disciplines.  

In 2023, a total of 271,775 samples were collected by ADOs, compared to 241,143 samples in 2022.  

A total of 1,654 of the ADRVs came out of Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs), commonly known as ‘positive’ results. The remainder were non-analytical findings derived from investigations and evidence-based intelligence, resulting in 351 violations committed by 325 athletes and 24 Athlete Support Personnel. This represents a 19.38% increase from the 2022 figure (294) and represents the highest total of non-analytical findings since 2020.

WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said: “The year-on-year increase of Anti-Doping Rule Violations, even allowing for the fact that more samples were collected in 2023, is a positive sign that the system is catching more violators. Improvements in testing and analytical techniques are assisting us in that process while we are also ensuring we can distinguish genuine cheats from those who are victims of contamination, and these figures are another positive step forward for the global clean sport community. In addition, research tells us that effective education and awareness programs are helping to prevent doping before it occurs, providing athletes with the tools and the knowledge they need to compete clean. It is very clear that in recent years anti-doping has become more sophisticated, including through non-analytical methods such as intelligence and investigations, and that this multi-pronged approach is having the desired effect on the ground.

“WADA’s ADRV Report provides a comprehensive overview of the outcomes of testing programs conducted by Anti-Doping Organizations around the world. The ADRV Report is best read in combination with WADA’s 2023 Testing Figures Report, which was published in June 2025. Together, they provide valuable insight and clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of robust testing programs, intelligence and investigations, the continued impact of scientific research and the role of the Athlete Biological Passport in protecting clean sport internationally.”  

As a matter of course, ADRV Reports are published later as processing ADRV cases is complex and labor-intensive, requiring extensive dialogue with the relevant results management authorities and other stakeholders.

To help with the interpretation of both Reports, we provide a comprehensive Question and Answer document here.