Anti doping body keeps ahead of cheats

David Howman. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Micro-dosing, testosterone patches and sample manipulation - the World Anti-Doping Association knows it's going on and is confident it is getting better at catching the cheats.

At the same time, director-general David Howman said asking for totally clean sport was like asking for journalism without plagiarism or a legal fraternity without corruption - that is to say, there will always be those who look for unfair advantages.

Between 1500 and 2000 tests will be carried out in the next fortnight by the Commonwealth Games Federation. It is likely some will turn out positive.

"Nothing surprises me," Howman said. "There are many examples of athletes being stupid because they know there's going to be a full programme at events like this and yet they still take the risk. I don't understand it and I don't think there will be an example where it doesn't happen."

Wada is getting more scientifically savvy, but recognises that people are paying smart people large sums of money to stay ahead of the pack.

That is why it has forged an alliance with Interpol and is using a more investigative-based approach to catching cheats.

"There are more examples nowadays of micro-dosing, where substances can go in and out of the body reasonably quickly. We have more cases of manipulation, where athletes can manipulate their samples, and so we have to be wary."

There was a need too, Howman said, to put the ambulance at the top of the cliff through education programmes for athletes and putting pressure on certain sports, cycling being the most prominent example, to change their culture.

"In some parts of the Commonwealth, there are areas where not enough information is given to athletes, there's not enough education given to the coaches, the trainers and the doctors or anyone else in the athlete entourage."

The build-up to these Games has not been without drugs controversy. New Zealand cyclist Adam Stewart was removed from the team after he was found to have imported performance-enhancing drugs.

On a larger scale, 12 members of the Indian weightlifting team tested positive for the banned substance, methylhexaneamine, or MHA. Some remain in the Games team. Their cases are pending and if found guilty, the athletes could lose their medals if they finish in the top three.

Howman was at pains to emphasise that Wada is not a testing agency. It is there to monitor the testing procedures and make sure any positive cases are dealt with according to the rules. It can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne if it is not happy with the sanctions.

There is a feeling, with the controversy swirling around Lance Armstrong and the revelation that Tour de France winner Alberto Contador tested positive, that Wada is waging a losing battle, particularly in the two-wheeled sport.

To an extent Howman agrees, arguing that until we made it less attractive for those who are not athletes to be in the drugs trade, the dark side of the sport will have an allure.

"What are we doing about sanctioning those who lead the athletes in the wrong direction? That's a big issue for society to confront.

"Those who are supplying the drugs are making a lot of money. There are many countries where it is legal to distribute steroids, to distribute EPO, to distribute human growth hormone. Why not invest in that business and make a lot of money? We need to stop that."