All British athletes to face pre-Games dope tests

Every one of Britain's 900 Olympic and Paralympic athlets will be tested for banned drugs at least once ahead of the London 2012 Games it was announced Wednesday. Although the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) would not specify how many tests they will carry out, they said their target is for every British athlete selected for the Games to provide at least one sample for analysis. At least 10 percent of these will be blood tests for substances such as the banned blood-boosting agent EPO and human growth hormone UKAD chief executive Andy Parkinson said: "Tests will be planned using our intelligence-based testing approach which utilises intelligence gathered from a wide range of sources and focuses the allocation of tests around where they will have maximum impact in terms of deterrence and detection. "Whilst the overall aim is to test every member of the British teams at least once, obviously those in more high-risk sports or disciplines, or athletes of interest to us will be tested more often. "Essentially there is no limit to the number of times we might test any individual athlete. "As the host nation at this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, we want to lead the way in promoting clean sport, giving the British public the confidence that the performances they see from our athletes are achieved through four years of hard work, determination and dedication." UKAD said the majority of tests would be attempted through no-advance notice, out-of-competition test, with additional tests targeted at key 2012 selection events. Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: "UK Anti-Doping has led the way in educating athletes and has one of the most robust anti-doping programmes in the world. But we can't be complacent. We need to ensure that athletes and support staff are fully aware of their responsibilities with regards to anti-doping. "Drug cheats have absolutely no place in sport. We want our athletes to be positive role models for the millions who will be watching the Games this summer."