Testing for HGH will be ready for Beijing Olympics, says WADA chief
10/4/2008 16:51
An effective test for human growth hormone (HGH) would be ready in time
for this summer's Beijing Olympics, World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey
said in Beijing yesterday.
"We believe there is an effective test for HGH,"
Fahey told a group of journalists from news agencies.
"I would like to say to
any athlete who comes here (for the Olympic Games) with HGH in the system:
beware."
HGH has been virtually undetectable in the past, but Fahey, who is
in Beijing for the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic
Committees (ANOC), said a new method would be ready for the August 8-24
event.
Athletes who believed that they could get away with using the hormone
in the run-up to the games as long as they stopped using it prior to the event
would be making a big mistake, he said.
"There is this belief that you can
manage it out of your system very quickly... I don't think that any athletes who
wish to cheat should put any faith in that statement any longer," said Fahey,
who succeeded Dick Pound as the chief of WADA.
"You shouldn't believe in that
conventional wisdom, because it is no longer wisdom."
Fahey also applauded
China's efforts in preparing for the doping control at the upcoming Beijing
Games, saying the facilities at the newly-built Chinese Anti-Doping Center were
"state-of-the-art" and the 1,000-plus personnel would provide strong
support.
"There is no doubt that there is a strong commitment by China to
have a clean Olympics," said the Australian.
Xinhua
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