July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Olympic athletes in Athens will be tested for the banned stimulant human growth hormone for the first time following research at a U.K. university, Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said.

``Up until now we've never had a test reliable enough that we were prepared to use,'' Pound said in a televised Bloomberg News interview.

The test, formulated by researchers at Southampton University in southern England and developed at laboratories in Germany, Australia and the U.S., will be carried out on urine and blood samples taken from athletes.

The hormone, which stimulates the growth of muscles and bones, was added to the International Olympic Committee's list of banned substances in 1989 and has remained undetectable until now. Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, cleared Australian sprint cyclist Sean Eadie of trying to import the substance in 1998 and 1999.

Tests carried out at an anti-doping laboratory in Athens will reveal if an athlete has taken the drug in the past 36 hours. The samples will then undergo a second analysis that will show if it has been taken up to 84 days before the Olympics.

``We've got something that not only detects it but will go back a considerable period of time and pick up people who have taken it before and are getting the benefit of it now,'' Pound said.

Clare Hartley, part of the Southampton University team that has worked on the test since 1997, said human growth hormone benefits athletes by turning fat into muscle. It also increases energy levels and helps them recover from injuries.

``The International Olympic Committee have wanted this for a long time,'' she said in an interview. ``Hopefully it will help to keep the sport clean.''

Doping Allegations

The run-up to the Olympics has been marred by accusations of doping against several top athletes. World 100-meter champion Torri Edwards may be banned from the U.S. team in Athens after the International Association of Athletics Federations this month said she failed a drug test in April.

Edwards became world champion last year when Kelli White was stripped of her gold medals for steroid use. White was banned without having failed a test because the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency had enough other evidence to convict her.

Last week, an attorney for three-time gold-medal winner Marion Jones said the U.S. track star's ex-husband C.J. Hunter was lying when he told federal investigators that she took banned substances at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Jerome Young should be stripped of his gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the 2000 Olympics because USA Track and Field improperly allowed him to remain eligible after he failed a test for steroids more than a year before the Sydney Games.

The British 4x100-meter relay team was stripped of its silver medal at last year's world championships when one member, Dwain Chambers, tested positive for steroids.

``We will never be able to stop drugs in sport because there will always be sociopaths who don't care what the rules are and who break them,'' Pound said. ``With better testing we are getting to the point where cheats can run but can't hide.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Sheringham on at ssheringham@bloomberg.net