MOSCOW -- The Salt Lake City Games could be the first
Olympics where each athlete must pass a drug test before competing.
In a groundbreaking move, the chief organizers of February's
Winter Olympics told the International Olympic Committee on
Wednesday that they are asking Congress for $1 million to finance
out-of-competition drug tests for up to 1,000 athletes.
Salt Lake Organizing Committee president Mitt Romney and chief
financial officer Frazier Bullock said those tests would cover any
competitor not tested in the previous four months by a national
Olympic committee, a sports federation or the World Anti-Doping
Agency.
About half the 10,000 athletes at the last Olympics, in Sydney,
were tested before the games.
The move by the Salt Lake organizers comes on the same day that
an independent commission cited USA Track & Field for being slow to
inform authorities about drug violators. The track body was not
accused of intentionally covering up positive tests.
The Washington panel also said one unidentified U.S. athlete
tested positive for a performance-enhancing steroid before the
Sydney Olympics, but was allowed to compete.
If the plan goes through, it would the first time every athlete
at any Olympics would have passed pre-games drug screening. About
2,500 athletes are expected to compete in Salt Lake City.
"We want to assure all athletes of a level playing field and
make sure that the cheaters have been caught," Romney said. "This
is a monumental goal that I feel would change the face of the
Olympic Games."
The SLOC plan calls for the United States Anti-Doping Agency to
conduct tests, traveling to training sites if need be to surprise
athletes before they go to Salt Lake. If jurisdictional problems
prevent such screenings, the tests would be conducted once the
athletes check into the Olympic Village.
Romney said this "very bold proposal" was needed to assure
athletes and fans that the games were clean.
"Many of our board members have expressed frustration over the
possibility of doping," he said.
In drawing up the plan, Romeny said, SLOC had "extensive
discussions" with Johann Olav Koss, the former speedskating
champion from Norway who is now an international advocate of more
drug testing and stiffer penalties for users.
Romney added the proposal has been "fully endorsed" by the
IOC's medical commission, which oversees drug tests during the
games, and a meeting with WADAA is scheduled for July 26 to work
out details.
According to SLOC studies, 70 percent of national Olympic
committees and a large percentage of sports federations surveyed
already conduct pre-games out-of-competition tests. Rare until
recent years, these random, unannounced tests are considered better
at catching cheats than tests during competition, which give users
time to cleanse their systems of any traces of banned substances.
"We feel that the vast majority of athletes are being tested,"
Bullock said. "We need to fill the gap."
Noting that the federal government already allocates $3 million
for USADA work, Romney said the additional $1 million "would be
money well spent."
If Congress fails to fund the program, he said, SLOC would
seeking financing from the IOC, the U.S. Olympic Committee,
sponsors and its own budget.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
|
|
