WADA: Effective blood test for HGH will be in place for Beijing Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- An effective blood test for detecting human growth hormone will be in place for the Beijing Olympics, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday.

HGH is considered one of the most widely abused performance-enhancing drugs, and experts say athletes have been able to use it with little fear of being caught. The substance clears the system quickly, making testing difficult.

"By the Olympic Games there will be a capacity to detect HGH," WADA president John Fahey said.

A test was used at the 2004 Athens and 2006 Turin Olympics but yielded no positives because athletes using it would have stopped in time to make sure it cleared the system beforehand. The latest development should allow for more routine testing out of competition.

"We know people have been taking human growth hormone with impunity and have been for 20 years," WADA director general David Howman said.

He said the test would be able to catch cheats within a window of "more than 48 hours."

Officials refused to give details, saying drug cheats needed to be left in the dark. But Fahey did say he was very confident about the tests.

Fahey said traces of the drug could also be frozen and stored in samples for up to eight years, meaning users could still be caught and lose their medals years later.