3 000 anti-doping tests conducted before Commonwealth Games

Gold Coast - Anti-doping officials conducted more than 3 000 tests ahead of the Commonwealth Games in an effort to weed out athletes who might be cheating well ahead of their competitions. 

David Sharpe, chief executive of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, said on Thursday that 2 600 tests were conducted on Australian athletes and 500 more on international athletes, some of whom were only at the qualifying stage for the April 4-15 games on the Gold Coast. 

Dr. Mani Jegathesan of the Commonwealth Games Federation's medical commission said doping samples from Commonwealth Games athletes would now be stored for 10 years so they could be retested when new testing regimens became available. 

Jegathesan said anti-doping authorities take into account the "risk element" and use intelligence reports so that "every test counts."