Only an athlete who tests positive on both tests will be subject to punishment, likely a ban from competition. But Schamasch defended the IOC's testing regime, saying athletes can be checked numerous times before the games, which could increase their chance of being caught. But critics note the likelihood a given athlete will be tested for EPO even once is low, since the IOC is planning to give only 300 randomly administered EPO tests to the nearly 11,000 athletes expected to participate in the games. Unlike testing for steroids and some other types of doping, EPO tests will not be required by the IOC for each and every medal winner. Because it has been difficult to detect, EPO has been considered a doping substance of choice among athletes, and particularly those in endurance sports.
Erythropoietin is produced naturally in the body.
Natural and synthetic EPO increase the number of blood cells in the body, which increases oxygen delivery to muscle cells, thereby increasing endurance. When the IOC in July approved the two new EPO tests, they rejected a third that could detect EPO one month after use, according to the Australian scientists that developed it. IOC officials had said they selected tests that research had shown would not accidentally incriminate an innocent athlete, and would hold up in court if challenged. IOC medical commission member Prof. Arne Ljungqvist, one of those believed to have rejected the test, said he was skeptical it would hold up in court. Unlike the other two tests, the rejected one was an indirect test, meaning it wouldn't detect EPO specifically, but rather the effects of it.