体坛英语新闻：Cuba's Olympic athletes declared free of doping

HAVANA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- All of the 110 Cuban athletes heading to the London 2012 Olympic Games were declared Wednesday to be "free of illegal (performance-enhancing) substances" by Cuba's National Anti-Doping Brigade.

"That fact is another expression of our respect for fair play," said brigade director Yahumara Castro, adding the rejection of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs reflected the "philosophy of a country that loves the practice of physical activity as a means to boost people's health."

According to the official daily Granma, Castro said the entire Cuban delegation had undergone one or more anti-doping tests and all came back negative.

The tests were analyzed at Havana's Anti-Doping Laboratory, which is certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Cuba hopes to better its medal count from Beijing 2008, where the country placed 28th with two gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals.