Almost a third of Aussie athletes 'would consider doping'

Almost a third of Australian athletes said they would consider using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a University study published yesterday.

The survey, which was commissioned by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and conducted by Curtin University, found that 29 per cent of elite-level athletes would consider cheating, while 30 per cent thought they would get away with it.

However, the poll also found that 90 per cent said they thought using drugs was morally wrong and 72 per cent wanted to see the introduction of tougher penalties for offenders.

ASADA chairman Richard Ings said the findings showed that doping authorities needed to do more than just test athletes to stamp out cheating.

"On the back of Marion Jones, who was systematically doping for many years, was tested 160 times, and tested clean every time while doping, it's clear that relying on testing alone does not send a sufficient deterrent to athletes to not be involved in doping," he told an Australian radio station yesterday.

Ings said ASADA had started storing samples long term so they can be re-tested when improvements have been made in testing technology.

"We can keep samples now for up to eight years and go back and test them... to close the Marion Jones loophole, where she got away with doping for up to seven years," he said.