Background: Torque teno virus (TTV) is a circular, single-stranded DNA virus that chronically infects healthy individuals of all ages worldwide. There is a lot of data on the prevalence and genetic heterogeneity of TTV in healthy populations and in patients with various diseases now available. However, little is known about TTV load among healthy human population. In this study we analyzed TTV load in the group of 512 Russian elite athletes, who are supposed to be, by some standards, the healthiest part of the human population.