Outgoing president of World Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound has predicted the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics could be the most doping-free in the even’s recent history. Pound, who visited China in September, said he was impressed by how much progress organisers have made in ensuring the testing and monitoring is as stringent as possible.“They have made pretty remarkable progress,” he said. However at the same time he mentioned that other countries, most notably India and some nations of the former Soviet Union still have a long way to go, as far as fight against doping was concerned.Pound added that tracking athletes’ physiological makeup over years could significantly crack down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. “The “athlete passport” could be in widespread use within three years,” he said. Such a programme won't be implemented in time for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.“I think the majority of athletes would be happy to do it, because they know we’d be better able to catch the ones who are cheating,” he said . Currently, doping tests measure athletes’ samples against predetermined average levels for substances naturally occurring in the body.
