Anti-doping lab for London 2012 given the thumbs up

The anti-doping laboratory that will be used for London 2012 has been given the thumbs up from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Lab equipment and products was judged to be up to the task by the agency, giving the lab the go-ahead as the primary testing area for banned substances in athletes. This concludes two years of testing to make sure that the lab meets international standards.

Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards said: "Ensuring athletes come to London with confidence in the anti-doping programme is very important." The news comes as the British Olympic Association (BOA) await to hear on their request to impose lifetime Olympic bans on British athletes who have served suspensions for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

The facility is located in Harlow, Essex, and is operated by King's College London. The researchers hope to carry out more tests than at any previous Olympics to ensure that London 2012 is a performance-enhancer-free games.

Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has donated and equipped the lab, which it says is the major part of its £20m contribution to the games.

Posted by Fiona Griffiths