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President of the World Anti-Doping agency (WADA), John Fahey.

Fri, July 13, 2012 - 12:05 AM

President of the World Anti-Doping agency (WADA), John Fahey, has called on athletes who are doping to withdraw from their national teams and stay away from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Fahey issued the statement three weeks ahead of the Games’ opening ceremony via a Press release while taking the opportunity to highlight the reason why clean athletes should be compete on a level playing field and gain due reward for their natural talent.

“Doping is cheating, plain and simple, and if you compete in London as a doped athlete, then not only will you be cheating your fellow athletes, you will be cheating sports fans across the world, doing a disservice to your national flag and flouting the ideals of the Olympic Movement,” said Fahey.

“A doping athlete cannot achieve success – it is a complete contradiction. Even if a doping athlete were to win a medal he or she would never be able to look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Well done, I deserved this’.

“[And] the Olympic Games are the absolute pinnacle for many athletes, and for them to train endlessly over a four-year period and then have their efforts belittled by a doping athlete, to me that is complete and utter betrayal of what sport stands for,” he added.

It’s an ideal that secretary of the National Anti-Doping Commission, Neil Murrell, believes that most regional athletes hold dear, as past statistics have suggested that the Caribbean generally produces clean athletes.

Citing the instance of Obadele Thompson standing up to the scrutiny of heavy dope testing, Murrell sees no reason to think that any regional superstar should bring shame to this region.

“Over the years, there has been a rather small percentage of Caribbean athletes found to be taking such substances and I don’t think we will be looking to start a trend of doping any time soon,” said Murrell, a former regional administrator of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization.

“[But] it’s still difficult to say at this point, as Marion Jones was tested 160 times and not found positive any of those times. I would say for the most part, though, that the stats received over the past would suggest that Caribbean athletes have competed dope-free.”

Fahey went on to applaud the efforts of the world’s anti-doping community in trying to identify doping athletes ahead of the Games, as well as the International Olympic Committee and Games organizers (LOCOG) for preparing a comprehensive anti-doping programme.

“These will be the most tested Games in Olympic history and doping athletes must know that they will be under the severe scrutiny of anti-doping officials from the moment they set foot in the Olympic Village,” said Fahey.

“I should also add that UK Anti-Doping is mandated to test athletes in training camps ahead of the Games and has also compiled much intelligence with the cooperation of anti-doping organizations worldwide.

“There has been a coherent effort to make London 2012 as ‘clean’ as possible and doping athletes should know that their chances of avoiding detection are the smallest they have ever been,” he added. (JM/PR)