New fleet of 76 public transport buses starts operation in Jeddah on Tuesday Environmentally friendly electric buses introduced for first time    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    EU preparing 'further countermeasures' to protect its interest, von der Leyen says    Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



IAAF bans another nine athletes in lead-up to Olympics
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 26 - 07 - 2012

LONDON — Bans for nine track and field athletes were announced in the immediate lead-up to the Olympics Wednesday as anti-doping officials promised the London Games would be the “most tested” ever and two new procedures would be used.
The IAAF, the governing body for athletics, said that six of the nine athletes had been caught through the athlete biological passport scheme, which will be used at the Olympics for the first time this year.
The other three positive doping results were retested samples from last year's world championships at Daegu, South Korea.
The athletes were guilty of “sophisticated doping,” the IAAF said, and received bans ranging from two to four years.
“Today's announcements underline the IAAF's continued and unwavering campaign against doping in athletics,” IAAF President Lamine Diack said in a statement. “We will not stint in our resolve to do everything in our power to eradicate cheating.”
The biological passport measures changes in an athlete's blood profile and is already used in professional cycling. It will be utilized in testing in track and field, swimming, cycling, rowing, modern pentathlon and triathlon at the Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced in a news conference at Olympic Park.
WADA also said a new test for the abuse of human growth hormone would be used at the Games, just weeks after it was cleared following a near 13-year development process.
One of the athletes sanctioned by the IAAF from the world championships — sprinter Inna Eftimova of Bulgaria — was guilty of using synthetic human growth hormone.
HGH abuse has been hard for the IAAF and other sporting bodies to test for and is among the three biggest doping worries for the London Games, according to WADA, alongside the blood booster EPO and synthetic testosterone use.
The first HGH test at the Olympics was in Athens in 2004. This year, American weightlifter Pat Mendes — the top-ranked lifter in his country in the over-105-kilogram weight class — became the first US athlete in an Olympic sport to test positive for HGH and be disciplined for it. He was banned for two years in April.
WADA director general David Howman said the new HGH test would work alongside the old one in London, giving testers a larger window to find traces of the substance.
“It's in place,” Howman said. “The marker test, which is a new test for human growth hormone, is in place and can be used by the laboratory during the Games. It's something that underwent a strong period of scrutiny.”
WADA President John Fahey said it was “good to see” that the IOC and local organizing committee had decided to use the biological passport in the six sports at the Olympics. “It is spreading as a tool ... and we've also seen sanctions as a result,” Fahey said.
WADA said this week that 107 athletes in Summer Olympics sports had been guilty of doping offenses in the six month period up to mid-June.
The IAAF Wednesday also provisionally suspended Moroccan 1,500m runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli from the London Olympics after she tested positive for a diuretic. There's been no announcement over Selsouli's ‘B' sample test. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.