In coordination with the London newspaper "Sunday Times," Seppelt and his team at ARD also revealed the doping activities of athletes from Kenya. Two members of the coaching team from the East African nation have been sent home from the Rio Games for alleged malpractice.

The head of Kenya's track and field team, Michael Rotich, was recalled after he told undercover reporters with ARD and the "Times" that he could give athletes a 12-hour advance warning of when they would be tested in exchange for a 10,000 pound ($13,000/11,800 euros) bribe.

Seppelt was first seen with bodyguards when he went to Vienna in June to report on the Olympic ban for Russian athletes. He was in their company again on a trip to Toronto in July when the World Anti-Doping Agency published its report into Russian doping.

While Seppelt confirmed the security arrangements to DW, he has not made a public statement on the issue. West German Radio and North German Radio, which has coordinated the ARD reporting, declined to give details of the security arrangements for its personnel in Rio.

(DW)