LONDON -- The IOC is using an improved steroid test to reanalyze frozen doping samples from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and may use the same method to conduct retests from the 2008 Beijing Games. The tests can detect steroid use going further back than ever before and in lower concentrations, IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Its a natural development of the methodology," he said, adding that the test increases the chances of catching drug cheats who went undetected at the time. The International Olympic Committee announced in March that it would retest Turin samples, just as it rechecked samples from the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games in Athens and Beijing -- catching 10 dopers retroactively. The IOC stores Olympic samples for eight years to allow for retesting if new methods become available. The Turin retesting involves a wider detection window, possibly going back as much as six months or more after steroids were taken. "The IOC is currently retesting some of the samples collected during the Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006 and we can confirm that we are using the new long-term metabolites method to detect anabolic steroids," the IOC said in a statement. The method will also be used in the drug-testing program at Februarys Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. According to a weekend report by German broadcaster ARD, doping labs in Cologne and Moscow using then new method have detected hundreds of positive cases in recent months. The report said the substances included oral turinabol, a steroid widely used in the former East Germany, and stanozolol, the drug which led to Ben Johnsons disqualification at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Ljungqvist said he had no independent information on the contents of the ARD report, suggesting the cases may have involved "very old samples" tested for research purposes. "Its nothing that we have initiated," he said. Meanwhile, Ljungqvist said the IOC expects to have the results of the Turin tests by the end of the year. The tests are looking for steroids, new generations of the blood-booster EPO and growth hormone, he told the AP in a telephone interview. Urine and blood samples from Turin are stored at the doping laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland. The exact number of retests is not known, but Ljungqvist said the IOC had identified "a couple of hundred" samples for possible reanalysis. Endurance events such as cross-country skiing are considered the most open to doping abuse. The IOC wants to wrap up the testing process, including any sanctions, before the Sochi Games, which begin Feb. 7. In 2010, the IOC reanalyzed some Turin samples for insulin and blood-booster CERA but all came back negative. The IOC decided a few months ago to test more samples before the eight-year deadline runs out in February 2014. Only one positive case was recorded during the Turin Games -- Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva was stripped of a silver medal after testing positive for a banned stimulant. But Turin was hit by a major doping scandal when Italian police -- acting on a tip-off from the IOC -- raided the lodgings of the Austrian cross-country and biathlon team, seizing blood-doping equipment. While no Austrian athletes tested positive at the time, four later received life bans from the IOC. Last year, the IOC retested samples from the Athens Olympics and caught five athletes who were retroactively stripped of medals for using steroids, including mens shot put winner Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine. Previously, retests of samples from Beijing for CERA led to five positive cases -- with Bahrain runner Rashid Ramzi stripped of gold in the 1,500 metres. Ljungqvist said more Beijing samples could now be retested using the improved steroid test. While the samples that have already been retested no longer exist, many others remain. "We can go back to Beijing before 2016," Ljungqvist said. "We may do that. We havent decided yet. We will do it as the eight-year time approaches." Under newly approved global rules, the statute of limitations in doping cases will be increased to 10 years starting in 2015. On a separate issue, Ljungqvist said he was confident the Russian lab assigned to test doping samples in Sochi will be ready for the games, despite a threat of sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency. On Sunday, WADA gave the lab until Dec. 1 to start reforms to improve the reliability of its results, or face a six-month suspension. The Moscow lab is due to set up a "satellite" facility in Sochi for the Olympics. "We interpret the WADA decision as if we will have the Moscow lab available," Ljungqvist said. "We take that for granted. They (the Russians) will of course fulfil the requirements established in the decision to make sure they have the proper procedures in place. We are feeling pretty confident." If the lab fails to come up to scratch, the Sochi samples would have to be sent to another lab outside Russia for testing, posing logistical and financial issues. "Of course, we have to have a Plan B, but the Plan B is not attractive," Ljungqvist said. "That would be to send samples out of Russia. We have to find a lab which wishes to do that and Im not sure what labs may wish to do that. Its quite risky with transport and all that." Tito Odenigbo Jersey . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Cornelius Edison Jersey . 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"My dad was kind of yelling at me to sit down and relax," recalled Landeskog, now 21 and a member of the Swedish Olympic squad here in Sochi. "Im like what do you mean, sit down and relax? We just won the Olympics!" Prominent in those memories for the budding Colorado Avalanche captain was the performance of a then-23-year-old Lundqvist, who stopped 25 shots in the final with Finland, preserving the second Olympic gold for Sweden. "He pretty much singlehandedly won that final game," said Landeskog of the 3-2 victory. Hes known as the King and stands as perhaps the biggest obstacle to a gold repeat for Team Canada at these Olympics. Not only the face and cornerstone of the New York Rangers and one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, Lundqvist makes a strong case as one of the best Olympic goaltenders ever and a major obstacle for the Canadians in Sundays 94 gold medal rematch with Sweden. "Hes a tough guy to beat," said Rick Nash, a teammate of Lundqvist with the Rangers, but an opponent with gold on the line. Unbeaten in Russia (5-0-0), Lundqvist enters the afternoon affair at Bolshoy Ice Dome with the second-most career wins by an Olympic goaltender – trailing only the great Vladislav Tretiak with 17 – and the second-best career goals against average (1.71). He made 25 saves Friday, including all eight in the final frame, to preserve victory for the Swedes in their semifinal matchup with Finland. "Hank has been playing unbelievable for us," said Erik Karlsson afterward. "In that part, we feel pretty confident." And in a one game scenario for all the marbles that can be the difference. Sweden may not boast anywhere near the talent of Canada – especially with injuries to Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen – but they might not need it if Lundqvist delivers a masterpiece. &quoot;He can stand on his head for us," said captain Nicklas Kronwall.dddddddddddd "Thatd be good." Led by Carey Price, who has sizzled in his first test on the Olympic stage, the Canadians have had no trouble defending here in Russia, but scoring has been another matter. They managed (and ultimately needed) just a single marker against Jonathan Quick and the Americans in the semifinal and have scored a mere four goals in the past nine regulation periods. Chances have been aplenty, but few have ended up in the back of the net, a concern when Lundqvist lies on the horizon at the top of his game. "I get to see him every day," said Nash of the soon-to-be 31-year-old, a winner in 12 of 14 Olympic starts. "Hes a guy that plays kind of a different style – deep in his net. Hes a tough guy to figure out even when you shoot on him every day. He doesnt play like regular goalies." And he seemingly doesnt prepare like regular goalies either. Swedish teammates have been struck by the preparation of the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner. "Im really impressed the way he prepares for the games