IOC to retest samples from Beijing for new hormone

The International Olympic Committee is to retest doping samples from the Beijing Games to check for traces of a new blood-boosting drug and other banned substances.

The move, announced yesterday, is designed to search in particular for a performance-enhancer only recently detected during retesting of samples from the Tour de France. The Beijing samples – across all sports – are being sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory in Lausanne, said the IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau.

The IOC vice-president Thomas Bach, of Germany, explained: "This clearly demonstrates the determination that there is zero tolerance [on doping], and that we will use all the means available to catch the cheaters."

The IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch added that officials were still considering how many and which samples to retest. "The decision will be based on intelligence, information we receive and many other parameters," he said.

The time frame for the testing process has not been finalised. The IOC stores samples from the Olympics for eight years, leaving open the possibility of retesting them when new detection methods are devised. Any athletes caught by new tests can be sanctioned retrospectively and be stripped of their results and medals.

The Beijing samples will be reopened and tested for CERA, a new generation of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO. A new blood test used by the French Anti-Doping Agency detected CERA during retesting of samples from Tour de France riders. The original urine tests raised suspicions but proved inconclusive.

Officials confirmed on Tuesday that the German rider Stefan Schumacher, and the Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli had tested positive for CERA at the Tour.

Schamasch said the IOC would test blood samples for CERA, but that tests would also be carried out to detect other drugs which he declined to identify. "We have indication of other substances," he said.

The IOC decision was welcomed by Olympic and anti-doping officials. "We believe that retrospective testing will serve as a strong deterrent," said the Wada president, John Fahey.

Bach said on Tuesday that the future of men's road cycling in the Olympics could be threatened unless the sport cleans up its act. If the sport did not work together to improve the situation, "you have to consider giving men,s road cycling a pause" from Olympic participation, Bach said.

1,000 samples

Approximate number of blood samples taken by the IOC during the Beijing Olympics earlier this year.

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