With random testing of the more than 4,000 athletes beginning on the day the Games Village opened, the toughest ever drug testing regime has begun for the Games.
About 300 out-of-competition tests have been undertaken in the past three months, with tests now being conducted on urine and blood samples, and with more samples to be taken than at past events.
The President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Mike Fennell, said the CGF is serious about drug-free sport.
The federation is working with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) to run an effective testing program for athletes leading up to the Games, with ASDA overseeing the testing of every Games-registered Australian athlete at least once in the past three months.
“Also vitally important is that Melbourne 2006 has developed an education program to assist in briefing and educating their athletes,” Mr Fennell said.
The anti-doping program is being overseen by the CGF’s Medical Commission. The Chairman of the commission, Dr Mani Jegathesan, said the federation wanted to send a very loud message that doping violations would not be tolerated.
The CGF has jurisdiction to suspend athletes found guilty of anti-doping rule violations, including non-analytical violations such as possession or trafficking of a prohibited substance, tampering, or failing to comply or evading a request for testing.
For more information on the Games' role in assisting drug-free sport, please visit the Games' Anti-Doping Information and Resources on this Website.