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Parkinson: Naïve to think Games will be clean

Russell Langley - 24/07/2008

Over 2,000 samples have been analysed
Photo/Getty Images

On the day UK Sport published results from the first quarter of its 2008/09 National Anti-Doping Programme, its Acting Director of Drug-Free Sport, Andy Parkinson, has stated it would be ‘naïve’ to think the forthcoming Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games will be clean.

Parkinson, speaking on the latest UK Sport Podcast, said:

“By the end of Beijing we will see that there have been positive tests during both the Olympics and Paralympics – we would be naïve to think they would be a totally clean Games. Indeed, from an anti-doping perspective, if they were totally clean, particularly given the current climate, you might even say that the system has failed those athletes who are competing drug-free.”

Parkinson also stressed that any doping offences committed in Beijing shouldn’t necessary be seen as a bad thing:

“We have to acknowledge, as do the public, that there will be positive tests in the future but that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for anti-doping as it actually demonstrates that we are catching the cheats.”

The results issued today by UK Sport cover the period from April-June 2008 during which time over 2,000 tests were carried out across 42 sports. This includes pre-Games tests on British athletes heading for Beijing.

“This has been a particular busy quarter for us, with not only the most comprehensive pre-Games testing programme ever but also large scale event testing at both the IRB Junior World Championships and the World Short Course Swimming Championships,” said Parkinson. “Despite the large number of tests at events, our continued focus on no-advance notice, out-of-competition tests has been maintained with almost 60% of all tests falling into that category.”

Governing bodies receiving most tests were the Football Association (400), UK Athletics (196), FINA (176), the Amateur Rowing Association (158) and British Cycling (158).