Drug cheats targeted

Published on Sunday 27 January 2002 00:00

NEW IOC president Jacques Rogge has revealed he wants to catch 50 drug cheats at next month’s winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Only five drug cases have been confirmed in the history of the Winter Games, and none in the past three games.

However, this year’s event in Utah will witness the toughest testing program ever staged, including widespread checks for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO.

"If you test more, you have more chances to get a positive case," said Rogge. "If I can catch 50, I’d be happy. I prefer no athlete to cheat, but you have to be realistic. If you can find 50, it means you’ve eliminated 50 cheats.

"Every athlete you catch is a good thing for sport. The more cheats we catch, the more deterrent there will be."

While officials often cite the goal of ensuring a "drug-free" Olympics, Rogge takes a more practical view.

"It would be naive to think that there would be 100% drug-free games," he said. "We are speaking about 2,500 athletes. Here and there, there will always be a stupid one who wants to cheat."

For the first time, all endurance athletes - 700-800 competitors in cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and speedskating - will be tested for EPO, or erythropoietin.

EPO, one of the most widely abused drugs in sports, enhances endurance by stimulating the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

Athletes in Salt Lake City will undergo a combined blood-urine test, similar to the EPO controls introduced for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.