The anti-drugs programme at Melbourne’s Commonwealth Games will be the toughest ever, with almost one in four athletes facing dope tests over the next fortnight, organisers said on Thursday.
Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell said 1 000 tests could be conducted on the 4 500 athletes in Melbourne, a higher proportion than the 2 000 tests on 10 500 athletes at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
”Drugs in sport are a major concern,” Fennell said, revealing Games organisers had worked with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Australian Sports Drug Agency on its Melbourne anti-doping programme.
”This is the most comprehensive programme we have ever had in place,” Games chief executive Mike Hooper said. ”There is significantly more testing and a much larger programme than what we had in Manchester in 2002.
”Our message to any athlete foolish enough to attempt to go down that path and run the risk is: ‘You will get caught’.”
Games organiser said all athletes faced the prospect of blood and urine tests from the day the Games village opens.
Tests will be frozen and stored for up to eight years so athletes can be subject to retrospective testing.
Four athletes were caught for performance-enhancing drugs at the last Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002. — Sapa-AFP