Lausanne (Switzerland), Jun 2 (IANS): The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has decided to double the budget of pre-Olympic drug testing.

The IOC executive board said on Wednesday that cracking down on drug cheats is their priority and agreed to double its budget for pre-games drug testing to $500,000, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The fight against doping is a top priority for the IOC, which has established a zero-tolerance policy," it said in a statement.

"The budget for the pre-Olympic testing program is now doubled. The program comes on top of the extensive program already being carried out by international federations and National Anti-Doping Organizations. Special focus will be put on countries where the testing program is non-compliant - Kenya, Russia and Mexico," it said.

The IOC also decided to extend the re-testing program as the they will target medallists from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games for possible re-analysis.