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| Sunday, July 15 |
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| Governing bodies and countries sometimes at odds Associated Press | |||
MOSCOW -- Juan Antonio Samaranch contends sports is
threatened by conflicting drug laws and he urged that an
international conference be held to resolve the dispute.
Samaranch, in his last full day in office as IOC president, said Sunday that police raids during the Giro d'Italia this year and the Tour de France in 1998 showed the need to adopt common practices so athletes do not inadvertently violate a country's laws.
"After these interventions, we have the feeling that sport is
in danger," said Samaranch, whose successor will be chosen Monday.
"Finally, governments are interested to fight against doping,"
Samaranch added. "But what we can ask these governments is a
harmonization. It is impossible that ... all the rules regarding
doping in these countries are different."
Samaranch spoke at the end of a morning presentation that
earlier heard from Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping
Agency. The agency was formed at a 1999 conference and he asked Pound to organize another conference.
"That is urgent, urgent to have an agreement with the
governments regarding harmonization ... because, if not, sport will
suffer a lot," Samaranch said.
Pound, one of five candidates to replace Samaranch, said he will act on the suggestion.
"I perhaps may not have been clear," he added. "The primary
objective we have in WADA is to develop a uniform and harmonized
approach to this. Everybody knows it's a mess right now."
During a later news conference, he appeared to resist the idea,
saying, "This sounded like an invitation from someone else to
spend my money."
Samaranch's suggestion came after Swiss IOC member Denis Oswald, head of the international rowing federation, said any country's drug regulations should be applied only to national competitions.
And, he added, if an international competition is held in a
country, that event should be subject to the regulations of the
sport's governing body. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | |
ALSO SEE New plan calls for all Olympians to be tested USA Track criticized for not following procedures Jamaican sprinter tests positive for steroids Spanish cyclist pulls out of Tour de France after failed drug test | |
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