SALT LAKE CITY?Athletes at the 2002 Winter Paralympics are not being blood tested for performance-enhancing drugs.

While blood from all endurance-sport athletes was screened for any sign of artificial oxygen boosters such as erythropoietin during the 2002 Olympics, none of the 430 Paralympians is being tested for red blood cell stamina enhancers.

Because Paralympic competitors have disabilities, the IPC has made special allowances for the use of prohibited drugs for medical purposes. Officials say there has never been a positive drug test discovered during a Winter Paralympics.