Zero tolerance for drug cheaters at Olympics (Feature)

By Andreas Schirmer Jan 27, 2010, 5:08 GMT

Dusseldorf - An unprecedented number of 2,000 drug tests will be applied and police raids on suspects are also possible in a rigorous fight against cheaters at the Vancouver Olympics.

The zero-tolerance policy of International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge includes storage of samples for retests once test methods for new substances have been developed.

Rogge said the February 12-28 Games could see 'four to five' doping cases, while local organizing committee (VANOC) vice-president Cathy Allinger said that Vancouver wants to 'host doping-free Games.'

The last Winter Olympics 2006 in Turin saw only one positive case in Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva, but also an unprecedented Italian police raid on the quarters of the Austrian cross-country ski and biathlon team.

The IOC called the authorities over the presence of a suspected coach. Six athletes were banned for life in the aftermath and Austria even faced exclusion from Vancouver before the IOC decided to withhold 1 million dollars (695,000 euros) in funding from the Austrian Olympic committee as a sanction.

Similar scenarios could also take place in Vancouver, Rogge said.

'We will ask the local authorities for help again if we have a suspicion,' the IOC boss said.

Calling in local law enforcement is a strong deterrent on top of the doping tests carried out on the athletes.

The IOC said it will conduct 2,000 tests around the Games, up 70 per cent from 2006. Planned are 1,600 urine tests and 400 blood tests. In addition, the Paralympics March 12-21 will see 425 tests.

Canada has spent almost 16 million US dollars on a new testing lab with state-of-the-art equipment next door to the Olympic speed skating venue in Richmond.

Allinger said test results should be available within 48 hours, and in 72 hours in more complex cases.

Doping has plagued the Winter Olympics in the past, most notably in 2002 when, among others, three-time cross-country gold medallist Johann Muehlegg and Russian skiers Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina were caught blood doping and disqualified.

Retests of samples were carried out for the first time after the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. Six athletes, including the original 1,500m gold medallist Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, tested positive for the latest version of the blood booster EPO in this way.