STUTTGART, Germany, (Reuters) – The International  Olympic Committee (IOC) has discovered seven more positive drugs  results from re-testing samples taken at last year’s Beijing  Games, stemming from six athletes, it said yesterday.

All of them tested positive for CERA (Continuous  Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator), the new generation of banned  blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) during the Beijing Olympics  last August.

“Of 948 samples that were analysed, seven resulted in an  adverse analytical finding (AAF) concerning six athletes,” the  IOC said in a statement. The latest round of testing, which began in January, focused  primarily on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and  athletics, the IOC said.

An IOC official said the samples that had turned out  positive were all A samples.

“These were A samples. Athletes in question can now request  to be present at the opening of their B samples,” an IOC  official told Reuters.

The official said the IOC would not provide any more details  on the individual athletes in question.

The IOC stores samples for eight years to allow re-testing  once new methods of detecting banned substances are developed.

“The testing took advantage of improved technology to seek  evidence of the prohibited use of CERA (equivalent to the intake  of EPO) and insulin,” the IOC said.

It said it would not comment on any of the individual cases  but had begun the process of notifying the athletes through  their national Olympic committees.

Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) said on its website  (www.coni.it) it had been informed that an Italian competitor  was among those concerned but gave no other details.

“The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we  conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never  assume that they have avoided detection,” said Arne Ljungqvist,  IOC medical commission chief.

“The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair  advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a  fair environment for competition,” he said in the statement.

Nine athletes tested positive during the Beijing Olympics  after extensive pre-Games testing nabbed about 40 for drugs  while six horses in the equestrian events were also found to  have been given banned substances.

The IOC conducted the largest ever doping operation with  about 5,000 blood and urine tests during the Games.