Six Beijing Olympic Athletes Test Positive for Doping, IOC Says
By Bob Bensch
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Six athletes from the Beijing Olympics produced positive doping results in retesting of samples, the International Olympic Committee said.
Seven tests involving the six athletes came back positive for the stamina booster CERA, or Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator, the IOC said.
The committee didn’t identify the athletes or their sports, citing confidentiality rules as it notifies those involved in the retests and their national Olympic committees.
The IOC retested 947 samples from Beijing after new procedures for finding CERA and insulin emerged. The organization is storing Olympic samples for eight years for reanalysis as new testing becomes available.
“The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never assume that they have avoided detection,” said Arne Ljungqvist, the IOC Medical Commission chairman. “The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a fair environment for competition.”
The IOC said disciplinary procedures, including hearings and penalties, would be conducted using anti-drug rules in effect during the 2008 Games, which produced doping cases against nine athletes from among 4,700 drug tests.
