Speed skater takes first drug test among S. Koreans in Sochi: official

Speed skating Olympic champion Lee Seung-hoon has taken the first drug test among South Korean athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics, an official with the athletic delegation said Wednesday.

The official said through Tuesday, Lee is the only South Korean athlete to undergo a doping test at this year's Winter Games.

The speed skater arrived in Russia on Sunday and submitted his urine and blood samples to an official from the World Anti-Doping Agency the following evening, as part of the random pre-competition testing.

At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Lee was the surprise gold medalist in the men's 10,000 meters and also won the silver in the 5,000ｍ. The former short tracker will try to win South Korea's first medal in Sochi, as the men's 5,000ｍ competition is scheduled on Saturday, one day after the opening ceremony.

The International Olympic Committee has said Sochi will have "the most stringent anti-doping program" ever at a Winter Games.

According to the IOC, 2,453 tests will be carried out in Russia, up from 2,149 tests administered in Vancouver. In Sochi, 1,269 of those tests will be done pre-competition, an increase of 57 percent from Vancouver.

The IOC stores samples for eight years at its lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the storage period will be stretched to 10 years starting in 2016. (Yonhap News)