The anti-doping chiefs have vowed to make this the most rigorously tested Olympic ever. Director General of WADA, David Howman has confirmed that with the use of a new drug, which would be able to test human growth hormone (HGH), the London Olympics would make be difficult for drug cheats.
How the new drug works
The sophisticated new drug to test for drug cheating in Olympic athletes is bio-marker test. It would be able to differentiate between naturally produced HGH in the body and synthetic HGH. According to Howman, it is a very important and helpful step in detecting performance enhancer drugs. It would surely help to catch some people who have been using the drug and getting away till now.
As it can distinguish between HGH produced naturally in the body and one introduced by artificial means, it would help to make a distinction at the most basic level of human biochemistry. Most importantly, the detection window, i.e. the time after taking the drug for which the test would be positive, is weeks rather than hours. It is bound to be more effective than the existing drugs and it would be used alongside other drugs in use since 2004.
The other tests used would be complementary but they would not be the same as this one.
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Testing arrangement in London Olympics
According to WADA president John Fahey, an extensive testing would be undertaken prior to the start of London Olympics which would make it the “most tested Games” in history. He affirmed his endeavour to provide an Olympics that is as free from drug cheating by athletes as possible.
To achieve this, already a total of 71649 tests have been carried out throughout the world in the last six months leading up to July 19. 107 athletes were sanctioned for this. According to London organisers, six thousand more tests are going to be carried out during the London games.
A mammoth 71,649 tests had been carried out worldwide in the six months leading up July 19, with 107 athletes sanctioned. London organisers say more than 6,000 tests will be carried out during the games itself. Fahey also informed that the samples obtained from these tests would be retained for up to eight years after the event is over. This is to ensure that the drug cheats are not able to breathe a sigh of relief later.
Thus, it looks as though there are tough times ahead for those who take dope for enhance performance, as drug detection keeps getting better every year.
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