| |
Australia vows to get tough on drugs Sydney games could be strictest yet in terms of drug testing
Posted: Friday May 14, 1999 08:28 AM
CANBERRA (Reuters) -- Australia announced stricter drug detection measures on Wednesday in the runup to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games including an extra A$6 million (US$4 million) in funding to combat the use of illicit drugs in sport. Sports Minister Jackie Kelly said Australia was working on new detection technology for the Games and warned international athletes that if they participated in Sydney while involved in doping -- or "tracksuit crime" -- they would be caught. "If an athlete cheats at our Sydney Games they will test positive and we will let everyone know about it very, very quickly," she said at the launch of the strategy. The new approach would improve border controls to stem imports of banned drugs and review regulations for the supply of any relevent legal drugs, like steroids used by veterinarians. Kelly said Australia was considering criminal penalties for sports drug trafficking. Broader athlete education on banned drugs was also part of the plan. Australian athletes would now have to seek clearance from a committee of approved doctors to use medication which could potentially test positive. Australia already has a strict anti-doping regime. Athletes are subjected to impromptu drug tests, in and out of competition, and those caught using performance enhancing drugs a first time are banned from competition for two years. A second offense means a lifetime ban from competition. Australia's multiple world champion swimmer Michael Klim said performance enhancing drugs were "killing sport as we know it." Sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor said competing against athletes from countries with laxer penalties was frustrating. "There will be a lot of hard testing at the Games but my main concern is what they [international athletes] are doing before they get to Sydney," she told Australian radio. "I want to see it [stricter testing] all around the world, I'd love to see that every country, like Australia, has out-of-competition testing but unfortunately that just doesn't happen." The Australian Sports Drug Agency has been contracted to provide the drug testing for next year's Olympics and Kelly said Australia was pushing to have drug testing conducted in the Olympic Village housing the athletes prior to the Games' start.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||
