Life bans for drug cheats: Hackett

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Olympic 1500-metre champion Grant Hackett says sportspeople who test positive to drugs should be banned from competition for life.

The Athens Gold medallist made the comments while visiting China’s national anti-doping laboratory.

Hackett said he was impressed by China’s drug testing preparations in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

However, he said sporting bodies might need to reconsider their strict liability policies related to drug use.

“If it’s someone whose taken a headache tablet and it’s a mistake and its not actually something that’s going to improve your performance, I think penalties shouldn’t be imposed to the degree of somebody whose taken a steroid,” he said.