Doping stained the Athens Games. In a bid to avoid a re-run in
2008, Beijing plans to subject athletes to a level of scrutiny and
testing never before seen at the Olympics.
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"As announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the
number of doping tests will increase to 4,500 during the Beijing
Games," said Zhao Jian, head of the Anti-Doping Commission of the
Chinese Olympic Committee.
Staff at the China
Doping Control Center.
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"We have now finished training the bulk of the team," he said.
"Our preparations are going ahead smoothly."
In December 2005, the Chinese agency signed a contract with
organizing committee BOCOG to take the role of official drug tester
at next year's Games.
Most of the team have worked in the field for about 10 years.
Some 200 more staff will be recruited from local hospitals to plug
the gaps.
"The heads of all the doping control centers at the competition
venues are very experienced," Zhao told China Daily.
"Meanwhile, those plucked from local hospitals will get to practice
at this year's test events."
A further 800 college volunteers will be recruited to help out,
he added.
Doping tests have risen steadily in recent years, from 2,800 at
the Sydney Games in 2000 to 3,700 in Athens. Between the two Games,
the number of positive results more than doubled.
BOCOG is now in discussions with each of the 28 international
sports federations to determine how many doping tests will be
needed for each Olympic sport next year.
"The number is usually decided by the host country based on what
it is capable of and the IOC's approval," Zhao said. "Although the
scale of the tests will be a challenge, we are confident we can
manage it."
Zhao's confidence is based on China's anti-doping management
system, which won ISO 9001:2000 certification, an international
quality standard, in April 2004. The country's drug-testing
laboratory, which was set up in 1989 for the 1990 Asian Games, has
passed the IOC's level-A examination for 17 straight years.
Beijing has almost finished building a new laboratory to meet
demand.
Located in the Olympic Sports Center, at the southern end of the
central cluster of Olympic venues, the new lab covers 5,000 sqm and
has cost the city over 70 million yuan ($10 million).
"Apart from those for the horses (equestrian events will be
staged in Hong Kong), all tests will be conducted in the new lab,"
said Zhao. "At its peak, there will be over 200 tests a day," he
said These will be overseen by 150 staff.
"Most of the employees will come from affiliated institutions
and universities," said Wu Moutian, head of the Chinese doping-test
laboratory. "Half will be on the payroll and half will be
volunteers."
According to Wu, besides the current 21 staff, 60 will come from
professional drug analysis institutions, 50 will be medical
students from universities and 20 will be foreign experts.
"Inviting foreign experts is international practice. It is a
guarantor of impartiality and transparency," he said.
The new lab will be put into use at the end of August for some
of the Olympic warm-up events.
Wu said it was too early to predict whether new drugs would be
added to the test list next year.
"IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency usually announce any new
items close to the opening of the Games so athletes have less
chance of escaping detection," he said.
Surprising athletes in this way is not unusual -- it happened at
the last two Summer Games.
Two months before Sydney got under way, erythropoietin (EPO)
tests were first carried out. Three months before Athens, the same
thing happened with human growth hormone (HGH).
EPO, a blood booster that facilitates the delivery of oxygen, is
commonly used to give athletes an advantage in endurance sports
like cycling and marathon running. HGH makes it easier for athletes
to strip away fat and replace it with muscle by boosting the body's
natural supplies.
With such an array of threats on offer, and doping becoming ever
more elaborate, the new laboratory will be granted maximum security
protection to minimize the risk of tampering.
"According to IOC rules, the Olympic doping test lab should be
secured by armed guards 24 hours a day, while the vehicles
responsible for transporting samples must be accompanied by armed
guards," said doping official Chen Zhiyu.
Chen said that despite the strict doping environment, Beijing
will carry out the tests in a manner conducive to making the
athletes feel comfortable rather than victimized.
"There are two principles for the Beijing 2008 doping tests: one
is not to let any drug taker get way with it, the other is
athlete-oriented, as we aim to offer a good service."
(China Daily July 6, 2007)
