media_artricles :: 2016

Serrette says no T&T athletes

None of the athletes caught in a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are Trinidadians, according to Ephraim Serrette, president of the National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA).

An Associated Press report (SEE PAGE 51) yesterday revealed that 31 athletes in six sports could be barred from competing in the Olympics after they were caught in retesting of drug samples from the 2008 Beijing Games. The report also noted that other positive cases are likely to emerge from the 2012 London Games.

Yesterday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened disciplinary proceedings against the 31 unidentified athletes from 12 countries who competed in Beijing and were planning to take part in the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. IOC President Thomas Bach said: "This is a powerful strike against the cheats. They show once again that dopers have no place to hide."

Serrette told the Guardian that his administration has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to dealing with drug cheats and therefore took extreme precaution by ensuring athletes are tested at National Championship meetings. "We do not have a National Anti Doping Organization (NADO) in T&T but we have certified drug testing officers who do the tests and send them to Montreal, Canada, to be examined," Serrette explained.

Positive cases from Beijing emerged from the recent retesting of 454 doping samples with "the very latest scientific analysis methods," the IOC said. The Olympic body stores samples for 10 years to allow for retesting with improved techniques, with athletes caught facing retroactive disqualification and loss of any medals.

The IOC said it could not immediately identify the athletes caught in the Beijing retests for legal reasons, saying it would inform the relevant national Olympic committees in the coming days. Serrette, the NAAAs boss noted that most of its top athletes are part of an IAAF testing pool which allow them to undergo regular tests, quarterly or annually. "For those who are not in the pool, they fall under the care of the NAAAs and face the tests we conduct randomly at local meets," Serrette added.

The NAAAs spends approximately US$60,000 on drug testing for each meet, Serrette said, adding the cost is included in their budget for subventions from government. The administration has also been lobbying for the set-up of a NADO here in T&T, following the passage of the bill in Parliament a few years ago.

To date only sprinters Kelly Ann Baptiste and Semoy Hackett were tested positive for banned substance.

Serrette noted it was as a result of testing done here in T&T.

Results of retesting of 250 samples from the London Olympics will be announced shortly, the IOC said. Those tests were also aimed at athletes planning to compete in Rio. "All those athletes infringing anti-doping rules will be banned from competing at the Olympic Games," in Rio, the IOC said after a teleconference meeting of its policy-making executive board.

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