Presenter Gabby Logan reveals BBC’s syringe code for Olympic drug cheats
Viewers will now know who has a history of doping
THE BBC’s Olympic hosts will be given notes with little syringe symbols next to the names of drug-cheat athletes.
Gabby Logan revealed a statistician flags up the shamed stars so presenters can let viewers know who has a history of doping.
Gabby, 43, who will lead the Beeb’s coverage, said: “The guy that does our stats, he puts a little syringe by people that have had drugs bans. The syringe does kind of jump out at you.
“The ban gets mentioned, ‘This person missed four years, this person missed two years, or this person has a year-ban for this’.
“We say that so you can make your own mind up at home whether you think it is right that they are here.”
Athletes with drug bans on their records who are expected to be competing in Rio de Janeiro include US sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay.
The Russian Athletics Federation was suspended by world athletics bosses in November after revelations of “state-supported” doping. It is not clear if the ban will be lifted for the Olympics opening on August 5.
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Logan, who is the BBC’s main host at the Games, also confessed she expects a high-profile athlete to pull out of the competition because of the Zika virus.
She said: “I’m pretty sure before the summer there will be a high profile person who decides not to go. That might mask another reason why they are not going, who knows.”
Banned . . . Chambers couldn't compete in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics
She also admitted the time difference will be a “challenge” with many of the most prestigious events happening in the middle of the night.
In 2002 British skiier Alain Baxter was stripped of his bronze medal after failing a drugs test.
British sprinter Dwain Chambers was barred from the Olympics from 2006 and 2012 after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.
The 2016 Olympics kick off in Rio de Janeiro on August 5.
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