Every athlete that represents Britain at the Olympic Games this summer will have been subject to drugs tests funded by UK Sport.

In announcing the programme the director of the Drug-Free Sport initiative, John Scott, said: "We have a duty to ensure we do all we can to show the world that the British teams competing in Beijing are drug-free. In particular, we want the British public to have confidence that the performances they are watching are from athletes who have achieved success through four years of hard work, determination and dedication, and not through cheating."

He is, of course, quite correct and we should be able to have faith that we are not supporting cheats. It would be nice to know that our athletes are competing on a level playing field too, but sadly not every country takes the same rigorous approach to the issue as Britain does.

'The monetary rewards for the top athletes such as Dwain Chambers can be considerable, and are surely just as much of a motivating factor for many cheats as the glory of a gold medal'


We can only make sure our house is in order and put pressure on other countries to do likewise. But still, the suspicion remains that we could be doing more and it is time for the government to get involved.

Using drugs to cheat is a serious issue, and one that not only has an impact on the other athletes and the spectators but also has financial ramifications. Athletes frequently receive public funding in order to enable them to train and compete, alongside prize and appearance money from event organisers and private sponsorship deals.

The monetary rewards for the top athletes such as Dwain Chambers can be considerable, and are surely just as much of a motivating factor for many cheats as the glory of a gold medal. Even where they are a by-product of their success they are still a substantial reward.

Sporting bodies can punish within the sporting arena by banning athletes and stripping them of titles and medals won, but a far greater deterrent would be if governments legislated against drug cheats and athletes could be found guilty of committing a financial fraud. After all, they would not have received the funding and payments they did if they hadn't conned people into believing they were better than they actually are through the use of drugs.

If athletes found guilty of doping were prosecuted and - if found guilty by a court of law - jailed, then the temptation for many would be reduced. It wouldn't be just their careers and reputations that they were risking any more.

Bringing in such legislation now would also send out a clear message to the rest of the world ahead of the London Olympics in 2012. Knowing that any athletes that failed drug tests at that event could be prosecuted under UK law would send reverberations around the international sporting community. Potentially, athletes would not just be sent home in shame after a positive drug test - they would be placed in custody.

Of course, it wouldn't deter all the cheats or make it any easier to catch them. But it could prove to be a vital tool in the war against them - and it would only take one or two high-profile names in the dock to send a very positive message about the consequences of drug cheating to all the young and impressionable athletes in this country, and possibly abroad too.