The IOC claim sport spends $300 million on anti-doping each year ©Getty Images

Figures compiled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) claim the total sporting spending on anti-doping amounts to $300 million (£242 million/€279 million) each year.

The statistics, released today during an IOC Executive Board meeting here, are part of an attempt to show how the sports world does more to support the drugs testing effort than simply fund 50 per cent of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) budget.

Total testing figures by all International and National Federations, including those in non-Olympic and Paralympic sports, were included in the total.

Contributions by Organising Committees and domestic leagues were also taken into account.

All of these groups collectively undertake 300,000 drugs tests conducted each year, it is estimated.

It was made clear that the IOC's statistics are an approximate estimate rather than an absolute calculation.

Under the formula used, it was estimated that each individual test costs an average of $400 (£323/€372).

The costs of collecting these tests was calculated at 50 per cent of this figure - meaning the total cost of testing amounted to $180 million (£146 million/€167 million).

Anti-doping education projects were forecast at 20 per cent of the testing figure while research costs of $10 million (£8.1 million/€9.1 million) were also included.

Investigations into evidence of Russian doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics In Sochi have already cost the IOC $2.8 million, contributing to the total figure of $300 million spent on fighting drugs in sport ©Getty Images
Investigations into evidence of Russian doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics In Sochi have already cost the IOC $2.8 million, contributing to the total figure of $300 million spent on fighting drugs in sport ©Getty Images

Administration and overheads amounted to 30 per cent of the previous subtotal.

This contributed to the final $68 million (£55 million/€63 million).

Overall, it meant that a figure of $1.2 billion (£997 million/€1.1 billion) is spent over each four-year Olympic cycle.

The IOC fund 50 per cent of WADA's current budget of $30 million (£24 million/€28 million), matching the contribution of international Governments.

They claim to have contributed $197 million ($184 million/€159 million) in "direct operational costs" to the anti-doping body since 2000.

Other contributions made include a further $10 million pledged as part of the Agenda 2020 reforms in 2014.

They claim to have already spent $2.8 million (£2.3 million/€2.6 million) reacting to the recent McLaren Report into Russian doping.

This relates to the cost of funding the IOC Disciplinary Commission investigation evidence of institutional doping as well as the expense of re-testing doping samples from the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.