17 Aug 2012

Call for Jamaica to introduce tougher testing

6:53 pm on 17 August 2012

Jamaica must bring in tougher testing before the world will accept its sprint stars as honest competitors, the founder of the World Anti-Doping Agency says.

Dick Pound says Jamaica and Belarus - the home of disgraced Olympic shot-putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk - are among the countries where tests are not rigourous enough.

New Zealand's Valerie Adams was awarded the gold after Ostapchuk was stripped of the medal following a positive drugs test for steroids. Ostapchuk denies being a drug cheat.

At the London Games, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the first man to retain the 100m and 200m sprint titles. He previously won gold at the Beijing Games in both races.

Mr Pound, a Canadian lawyer, told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Friday that Jamaica is considered a high-risk country in relation to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

He says many of their past high-performance athletes have tested positive and this obstacle must be overcome if the world is to accept Jamaica as fair competitors.