Drug officials target Jamaican athletes ahead of world champs

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, CMC- Jamaica’s 44-member contingent preparing to participate in the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, starting this weekend, has been tested for illegal drugs, the Observer reported yesterday.

Agents from the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) swooped down on the camp earlier yesterday to conduct drug tests on the Jamaican athletes ahead of the August 10th to 18thgames.

Team officials confirmed to the Observer that all members of the team were blood tested, the paper reported.

Athletes and officials are based at the Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel and Business Centre.

Jamaica’s track and field programme has been under siege this year with six athletes testing positive for banned substances.

They include multiple Olympic Games and World Championships gold medalist Veronica Campbell Brown, World championships bronze medalist Asafa Powell and Olympic Games silver medalist Sherone Simpson.

Campbell Brown tested positive for a stimulant at the Jamaica International invitational in May while Powell and Simpson tested positive at the National Senior Championships in June.