Blood simple?

Once the chest thumping has stopped the IOC might concentrate their minds on a number of other issues which surround blood testing for banned substances. Ireland's Dr Joe Cummiskey, a member of the IOC Medical Commission, raised some points last week regarding incidental findings during the normal run of tests.

If an athlete, for example is found to have an abnormally high white cell count in his or her blood, which could indicate leukaemia, then who is responsible, what do they do and when do they do it. What about the religious aspects of blood testing for some athletes and how can they get over the issue of invading a person's body with a needle.

Charles Yesalis, a Penn state professor and an authority on performance-enhancing drugs was explicitly downbeat about the announcement when he spoke to the New York Times this week.

"These games are going to be as drug laden as the rest," he said adding that the test "smacked of public relations."