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Pre-competition drug test to debut
Posted: Thursday December 09, 1999 11:53 AM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Triathletes and cyclists could be disqualified from competing at next year's Sydney Olympics before they have even jumped in the water or on to their saddles because of new pre-competition blood tests to be introduced at the Summer Games for the first time. International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical expert Patrick Schamasch said on Thursday that the international cycling and triathlon federations had asked to carry out tests to check the level of red blood cells in competitors' bodies before races. The tests, which are aimed at stopping the use of dangerous red blood cell-boosting drugs like erythropoietin (EPO), have been used before at Winter Games for distance events such as biathlon. But they have never been used to police competitors at Summer Games. Triathlon is making its Olympic debut in Sydney and will have a high profile since it is the first major event of the Games. Drug tests of competitors' urine are carried out after races and athletes are subsequently disqualified and banned if prohibited substances are discovered. Technically, the new tests are health tests -- not drug tests -- so a competitor will be stopped from taking part on health grounds but will not face further sanctions. "They are not doping tests. It's because we consider and the federation considers his or her health is in danger," Schamasch said. The tests measure the haematocrit levels of an athlete. EPO, a quick shot-in- the-arm which replaces expensive high altitude training, can boost the red blood cells which carry oxygen to the muscles but it is very dangerous because it can thicken the blood and leave athletes open to cardiac arrest. It is very unlikely that Olympic officials will have tests in place by Sydney to nail athletes who are cheating with drugs like EPO or with the fashionable human growth hormones (HGH) because the tests have to be legally as well as scientifically watertight. The pre-competition testing is a step in the right direction, nevertheless, even though it will not be carried out across all sports. Schamasch said he believed the modern pentathlon federation had also shown an interest in the tests. "The UCI (International Cycling Federation) asked us a long time ago because they [the tests] are part of UCI regulations. Triathlon approached us two months ago, " Schamasch said. The tests were first introduced in the Olympics at the 1994 Lillehammer Games for skiing events and were also carried out at the 1998 Winter Games for the biathlon competitors. The controls could also be useful in distance events like the marathon or in the longer distance events in athletics. Schamasch also said the IOC had decided to back an Australian research project with $1 million to find a reliable test for EPO with and would be giving a similar U.S. project $250,000.
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