Record levels of drug testing planned for Olympics

Officials for the London 2012 Olympic Games have revealed that more drug tests than ever before will take place throughout the sporting event.

The London Organising Committee (Locog), under the authority of the International Olympic Committee, is expected to gather 5,000 samples.

This represents a ten per cent increase on the number taken from Beijing in 2008 - of which 20 specimens returned positive results for illegal substances.

Commenting on the move, Locog's director of sport Debbie Jevans said: "We need a strong message that drugs cheats are not welcome."

According to Ms Jevans, the help and guidance of UK Anti-Doping will enable the organisation to provide a "world-class" programme for detecting usage of banned chemicals.

Andy Parkinson, UK Anti-Doping chief executive, said he and his institution are "pleased" to be offering such a comprehensive analysis service for the Games.

Last month, US sprinter Ivory Williams was banned from competing for three months after traces of marijuana were found in a sample he gave.