This invitation is a great honour for the Austrian experts and shows their high international reputation.
Over 6250 samples will be analysed throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, up to 400 each day which is more than at any other Games. The laboratory, which measures the size of seven tennis courts, will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A team of anti-doping scientists from around the world will carry out the testing at the laboratory, which has been provided by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The facility will be operated by King’s College London, led independently by Professor David Cowan from the Drug Control Centre at King’s.
The Austrian Doping Control Laboratory (operated by Seibersdorf Labor GmbH) was established in 2002. Since then the experts from Seibersdorf were invited to international sport events several times.