Britain's Olympians get drugs warning
Britain’s 271 Olympic competitors are each to be given a medical pack of ’safe’ drugs to treat minor ailments while they are in Athens and warned not to buy off-the-shelf products from local chemists.
UK Sport, Britain’s drug-testing agency, are providing the pack for the first time at a Games in an attempt to avoid athletes making the same mistake as Alain Baxter, the Olympic skier who was stripped of his bronze medal two years ago after buying an American nasal inhaler that contained amphetamine.
The packs contain painkillers, throat lozenges, nasal spray and anti-diarrhoea capsules that have all been checked to make sure they do not contain prohibited substances.
John Scott, UK Sport’s acting director of drug-free sport, said: “We are advising athletes that if they do come down with a minor illness, such as a cold, they should either use these packs or seek help from a British Olympic Association doctor.
“These packs are safe – on no account should athletes be tempted to buy an off-the-shelf remedy from a local chemist.
“We have seen in the past that this can cause problems as medications do not necessarily contain the same ingredients in different countries.”
All of Britain’s athletes will have been tested before the Olympics start on August 13, and many of the Paralympic athletes as well. So far, no tests have returned positive findings.
August 13 is also the day that the world anti-doping code comes into force. From then on, UK Sport plan to ’name and shame’ all those who test positive for banned drugs and have had action taken against them by governing bodies.
However, Scott said his organisation are still in talks with the Football Association and the British Cycling Federation over whether they are happy to go down that road.
Scott added: “We are still in discussion with football because under the WADA code social drug use is not prohibited outside of competitions, however the FA have taken their own decision as a sport to address any social drug use.
“There are questions about whether those players who for example test positive for marijuana should be named.”
UK Sport are also pressing ahead with plans to make athletes more accountable for their whereabouts when drug testers visit. Athletes are supposed to keep their governing bodies and UK Sport informed of their plans and a system is on trial where athletes can use the internet to provide up-to-date information.
Figures show that the problem is getting worse rather than better. There were 19 non-availability’s in athletics between April and June this year compared to 14 over the same period last year.
UK Sport are considering a ’three strikes and you’re out’ policy for non-availabilities. If an athlete is absent from where they are expected to be when testers call three times over a set period they may be charged with an anti-doping violation and face a two-year ban.
