Olympics: IOC sticks with combined drug test
The International Olympic Committee are to stick with a combined blood and urine EPO test at the Winter Olympics instead of using a French method requiring only urine.
IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said the panel felt the French urine test was "powerful," but was more reliable combined with a blood test developed by Australian scientists.
He was speaking at a meeting with scientific experts to review the test for artificial EPO, or erythropoetin.
"It came to us that with our current knowledge, the urine alone was not sufficient to go to a final result," said Schamasch. "That's why we decided a urine test should be backed by a blood test."
The EPO combination test, which was used at the 2000 Sydney Games, has since been improved, Schamasch said, and the blood portion of the test is less bulky. No athlete tested positive for EPO in Sydney and the test was criticised as ineffective.
"The ability to detect has improved," Schamasch said. "We've had 15 months since Sydney to improve on it."
Synthetic EPO increases the level of red blood cells, enhancing aerobic capacity. The drug is believed to be widely used in endurance sports.
All endurance competitors in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics will undergo screening for EPO, based on an agreement reached with the three winter sports federations governing cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and speed skating.
