FEATURE-Olympics-China seeking to avoid drugs scandals

By Lindsay Beck

BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - Before the first competitor moved into action at the Athens Olympics, host Greece's two top sprinters were facing expulsion over missing a doping test.

Four years on, China will be seeking to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing drugs scandals that have become a regular feature of sports competitions.

The sheer volume of drug tests will be higher than ever, new technologies are in place and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has promised that the anti-doping regime at the 2008 Games which start next week will be the toughest yet.

But with pride, glory and huge amounts of money at stake, drug cheats too are stepping up their game.

"In the world of doping, for those who do it, it is a constant cat-and-mouse game," said David Baron, chair of the department of psychiatry at Temple University in Philadelphia.

"It's not just a pee-patrol, it's about fair competition and healthy athletes," said Baron, who has served as a doping control officer at past Games.

When the curtain closes on Beijing some 4,500 tests will have been conducted, a 25 percent increase on Athens, with the top five athletes and two random finishers in every competition undergoing tests.

For the first time, kits will be available to test for the banned human growth hormone (HGH) and under an IOC regulation passed in June, anyone found guilty of a serious doping infraction will miss out on the 2012 Games in London.

"In terms of what the technicians have done and the roles in relations to anti-doping, they are stronger than ever," said David Howman, director-general of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

HIGH-PROFILE SCANDALS

But despite an ever-evolving regime to test cheats, the fight against doping has suffered blows in recent years after high-profile scandals involving cycling's Tour de France and disgraced American sprinter Marion Jones.

Chinese sports officials have repeatedly said they would rather win no gold medals in Beijing than suffer the embarrassment of a single positive test.

But the country's own record shows both the progress and failures in the fight against doping.

The number of domestic tests in China has risen hugely from 165 in 1990 to 10,238 last year, according to China's Olympic Committee.