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IOC says EPO tests will be ready
Posted: Wednesday May 24, 2000 11:37 AM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Olympics chiefs are set to take the most significant step for years in the battle against doping by introducing a test at this year's Sydney Olympics for one of the most dangerous drugs in sport -- erythropoietin (EPO). International Olympic Committee (IOC) leader Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday it was "almost certain" that tests for EPO would be ready for the Sydney Games starting in September and said the IOC had also changed its rules to allow blood tests. In the past there have been false dawns about a test for the stamina-boosting EPO which is suspected of having killed several cyclists in Europe since it was first introduced to treat kidney disease in the mid-1980s. But Rogge, one of the favorites to take over from IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch next year, is a man who chooses his words carefully, especially just a year before the presidential election in Moscow. The former Olympic yachtsman told the French newspaper L'Equipe: "At the beginning of the year, the IOC, because of past disappointments, did not believe that such a test could be completed before Sydney. "A month ago, it was 50-50. Today, it is almost certain. We have taken all the measures so that we could carry out these tests in Sydney. We have changed the Olympic charter to allow blood tests." EPO stimulates the production of red blood cells which transport oxygen around the body -- a quick boost which replaces expensive training at high altitude. It can be used by athletes who want to cheat in endurance events such as cycling, rowing and distance running. The substance is produced naturally in humans but if it enters the body artificially it can be fatal, making the blood thick and gluey and breaking down the entire circulatory system. This can cause high blood pressure and thrombosis and lead to a heart attack. Some experts have dubbed it the danger drug used by athletes who live by the motto: "Better dead than second." EPO was one of the drugs involved in the 1998 Tour de France drugs scandal which rocked the sports world and put intense pressure on sporting authorities to take tough action against the abuse of performance-enhancing substances. On Thursday Tour de France officials and top cycling chiefs will meet at Geneva airport. The possibility of EPO tests at this year's Tour is believed to be on the agenda. The IOC, concerned by the increasing threat of athletes taking sporting authorities to court over positive tests, has tended to take its time about introducing new tests in the past. But leaders have been working hard to get all the pieces in place for an EPO test in Sydney. The IOC made the mistake of introducing a new test for the banned stimulant bromantan just before the 1996 Atlanta Games and lost appeals by athletes against positive tests because of doubts about the reliability of the test. But an Australian laboratory and a French research center near Paris will soon publish their results on EPO in scientific magazines. Publication is the first stage for a doping test to be validated and accepted legally. The French test is especially practical as it is based on urine samples and not on blood tests. Rogge said: "The IOC is ready and is only waiting for the green light from science and legal experts before taking action."
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