Swiss anti-doping lab chief Martial Saugy said Brazilian authorities face a "big challenge" to build a credible doping lab in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, according to Anna McIntosh of REUTERS. Saugy's lab is responsible for testing samples during this year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil "after the Rio lab was stripped" of its World Anti-Doping Agency license to test for banned substances last year. The scientist, however, said building a lab from scratch capable of processing the thousands of tests conducted during Olympic Games in time for the 2016 Olympics would be a "tremendous task," even with more than two years to go. Saugy said, "This is a big challenge. It means now the laboratory has been revoked and, to our knowledge, they are rebuilding a new building for the laboratory of the Olympics in Rio, and they have to rebuild the entire team." WADA ruled in August that the Rio laboratory did not meet the Int'l Standard for Laboratories "and revoked its WADA accreditation." Samples taken at the World Cup "will now be flown across the Atlantic to Switzerland, raising doubts that positive tests from players will be discovered before their next matches at the tournament" (REUTERS, 2/18).
