World Aquatics Collected 5,435 Samples for Anti-Doping Testing in 2025

World Aquatics has released its final doping data for the fourth quarter of 2025.

In the last three months of the year, there were 684  samples collected by the Aquatics Integrity Unit, in conjunction with the International Testing Agency, from 360 athletes representing 71 nationalities.

World Aquatics is one of many global bodies with overlapping testing authority for elite international athletes, so these tests are a percentage of those conducted around the world.

A graphic from World Aquatics breaking down the testing data (click to enlarge).

That made Quarter 4 the slowest quarter of the year for World Aquatics-directed testing, in spite of the quarter including the three stops of the World Aquatics World Cup Series.

Total Samples Collected, by Quarter:

• Q1 – 1,413
• Q2 – 1,845
• Q3 – 1,403
• Q4 – 684
• Total – 5,345

That is a slight decrease from the 5,568 samples collected in 2024 and 5,437 samples collected in 2023.

Starting in Q2 of 2025, World Aquatics began including the number of TUE applications it receives. That is likely in response to pressure from some of the world’s most frequently-sanctioned nations that often reply that their numbers are higher because ‘other countries’ abuse the TUE system.

In total, World Aquatics says it received 16 applications in Q2, 15 in Q3, and 14 in Q4. Of those, 8 were withdrawn or not needed and 1 was denied. Those TUEs allow athletes to take some substances (though not all) on the banned list under the care of medical professionals. This can range from basic cold medicine to treat acute illness to treatments for asthma and other chronic conditions.

• See more anti-doping statistics here.

While the final by-athlete testing for 2025 has not been released, World Aquatics appears to be target-testing Chinese athletes after the infamous 23 tests in 2021 that ultimately led to no sanctions ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.