Olympic athletes set to undergo most advanced anti-doping tests in Games history

London: Half of all the athletes competing at the London Olympics will be tested for drugs, which is being billed as the biggest anti-doping procedure in the history of the Games.

According to Express.co.uk, 150 scientists will collect more than 6,000 samples before the end of the Paralympic Games on September 9 in a bid to ensure the Games are not tainted by disqualifications and scandals. The London 2012 anti-doping laboratory will be operated by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), LOCOG and King’s College London. Every competitor who wins a medal will also be tested for drugs before award ceremonies. British competitors Phillips Idowu, Beth Tweddle, David Weir, Graham Edmunds and Marlon Devonish will appear in television and billboard advertising campaigns to highlight the importance of the anti-doping operation and the science behind it, the paper said. Testing will be carried out at the London 2012 laboratory in Harlow, Essex. More than 1,000 people will staff the centre, with up to 400 samples tested every day for more than 240 prohibited substances. Double gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer Edmunds, who was part of the winning 4x100m freestyle relay teams in Athens and Beijing, said: “I’m confident that everything possible is being done to catch drug cheats at London 2012.” Sprinter Devonish, who won Olympic gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2004 Athens Games, said: “It’s so important to know that anyone who stands on the podium has got there through hard work, not by doping.” ANI