London (AFP)
UK Sport, the supreme body of sport in the United Kingdom, did not put athletes in danger by making them test an experimental substance before the London Games in 2012, she reacted on Sunday to an article in the Daily Mail.
According to the Sunday edition of the British tabloid, public money was used to administer to 91 sportsmen, in eight sports, an energy drink called DeltaG, then without guarantee that this substance would not produce side effects or would not involve no positive doping controls.
Athletes have even signed disclaimers to avoid UK Sport being implicated and they have also committed not to speak in public of this project. This product was originally intended to supply special forces, at the military level, to enable them to evolve behind enemy lines while needing less power.
UK Sport reacted by explaining that it had consulted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the British anti-doping authorities to ensure that this product complied with the rules in force and did not endanger athletes.
Team GB won 29 gold medals at the London Games and finished third in the medal table.
"UK Sport does not fund research projects designed to give our national teams a performance advantage at the expense of the well-being of athletes," said UK Sport in a statement.
She adds that disclaimers of liability and commitments of discretion are a common practice for this kind of testing.
"UK Anti-Doping has confirmed in writing, after requesting clarification from WADA, that there is no reason to consider these substances as prohibited on the basis of the 2011 list of prohibited products and methods", adds UK Sport.
"UK Sport is fully committed to the development of a culture of high performance capable of inspiring athletes, and which sets us apart from our international rivals. We will never seek to aim for medals at all costs", concludes the press release.
According to the Mail on Sunday survey, 40% of athletes who tested this product were victims of gastrointestinal side effects (vomiting, etc.).
Of the 91 athletes selected, 28 stopped the test for this reason, then 24 others withdrew from the program because they believed that this product did not benefit them.
© 2020 AFP