IOC turn up the heat on the dope cheats

By Alan Baldwin

BEIJING (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) turned up the heat on dope cheats at the Beijing Games on Saturday, hailing a spate of positive tests as proof that their "zero tolerance" policy was paying off.

Seventeen would-be Olympians have been named and shamed in the run-up to the Games. IOC President Jacques Rogge told reporters the athletes' detections were no coincidence.

"This is the result of a deliberate strategy and policy," he said. "These are 17 cheats who will not falsify the competition.

"We are working with the international federations to step up tests before the Games."

In the past few days, seven Russian athletes and an Italian fencer have been confirmed positive for performance-enhancing drugs and barred from the Games. Other athletes have failed drugs tests in the past weeks.

National federations have been told by the IOC to maximize their doping tests in order to reduce the risk of scandal tainting the Games which start on Friday (August 8).

The IOC will also run about 4,500 doping tests in Beijing, the largest number of tests ever at a Summer Games.

They include a new test for the once-undetectable human growth hormone (HGH).

ROMANIANS RETIRE

Italian fencer Andrea Baldini was the headline name on Friday, the world number one foil excluded by his country after testing positive for the diuretic furosemide at the European championships in Kiev last month.

Swimmer Jessica Hardy, a strong medal contender as former world record holder in the 100m breaststroke as well as current short course record holder in the 50m breaststroke, withdrew after failing a test at the U.S. trials in Omaha last month.

"Based upon information obtained as recently as today ... she accepts the fact that the testing was properly done and the results properly reported," lawyer Howard Jacobs said in a statement.

"She sadly accepts the fact that this necessarily means she will not be able to compete in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, and faces a possible two-year suspension of eligibility."

Romanian 1,500 meters runners Elena Antoci and Cristina Vasiloiu announced their retirement after being dropped on suspicion of doping.

The Romanian Olympic and Sport Committee said tests on the pair had shown a suspiciously high concentration of oxygen in their blood.