Efforts to ensure a clean U.S. Olympic team have taken a step forward. According to a report in the Tampa Tribune, athletes competing at the trials for the track and field and swimming teams will have their blood tested for the first time in history. They'll undergo the more familiar urinalysis as well but the blood tests are designed to stop athletes from using HGH and drugs which aid in the enhancement of oxygen transfer to red blood cells. The top finishers at the track trials will be tested, along with other random athletes. In American team sports, blood testing has been controversial because some believe it violates the privacy rights of athletes. With public belief in track at an all time low, however, they can't be quite as choosy about the methods of screening.
"I don't like needles but I don't like people cheating, either," said long jumper Rose Richmond. "They have to do what they have to do. I'll just close my eyes and hold someone's hand when they take my blood."With the IOC's own methods for detecting EPO, one such drug, called into serious question, blood testing seems a necessary step to qualify any event or team as truly drug free.
