2010 Vancouver Olympic organizers pick drug test lab
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“Cheaters Beware” was the warning yesterday, as organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics announced plans for a state-of-the-art, multimillion dollar anti-doping laboratory to be built at one of the Games’ own venues, the signature speed-skating oval in the sprawling suburb of Richmond, B.C.
“You can’t stop people from taking drugs, but if you come to Vancouver, we’re likely to find you,” declared Dick Pound, VANOC board member and the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“This will be an absolutely first-class effort … Whatever the most modern tests are, they’ll be here.”
The 2010 anti-doping program will be headed by Christiane Ayotte, director of the world-renowned doping control laboratory in Montreal.
VANOC president John Furlong said the organization’s goal is to host “a doping-free Games.”
Housing and equipping the Games’ anti-doping laboratory at the spacious speed-skating oval will more than double the cost to $9.1-million, up from VANOC’s original budget estimate of $4.1-million.
Ayotte said it makes sense to have anti-doping facilities as close to Olympic venues as possible. “If something is weird, then we can collect another sample from the athlete immediately. It’s much more efficient.”
Except for cross-country skiers with a history of blood doping, the Winter Olympics produce fewer dope cheats than the Summer Games.
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