2002 Athletes May Face Test

Mitt Romney, head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, announced an ambitious proposal Wednesday to assure that all 2,500 athletes at February’s Winter Olympics undergo out-of-competition tests for banned performance-enhancing substances.

Never before have all Olympic athletes been so tested.

“We want to assure all athletes of a level playing field and make sure that the cheaters have been caught,” Romney said. “This is a monumental goal that I feel would change the face of the Olympic Games.”

SLOC said it has asked Congress for $1 million to underwrite tests for 500 to 1,000 athletes who would not already have been tested in the prior few months by their national Olympic committees, sports federations or the World Anti-Doping Agency. Money “well spent,” Romney said.

The tests would be carried out by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which last year took over all American drug efforts. Romney said considerable jurisdictional issues must yet be worked out.