Fight Against Doping -- Rogge Expects More Failed Beijing Drug Tests

There are “possibly” seven more positive drug tests from Beijing, according to Jacques Rogge. (ATR)Rogge Expects More Positive Drug Tests

IOC President Jacques Rogge said there is a “possibility” of seven more positive doping cases from the Beijing Games.

According to the Sunday Times, Rogge made the comments at the 100th Anniversary of the Austrian Olympic committee.

"We had 39 cases in the run-up to the Games, eight during the Games and seven more possibly coming up," Rogge is quoted in the paper.

There were only 12 failed drug tests in Athens, so the IOC had hoped to use the Beijing Games to show they were winning the fight against doping.

IOC Wants Britain to Change Doping Laws Before 2012

The IOC is apparently growing weary of Great Britain’s lack of laws against doping. IOC Medical Commission chair Arne Ljungqvist said he will call on members of Parliament to introduce legislation before the London Olympics to fight doping .

Many European countries have laws criminalizing the possession and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs but Britain has no such laws.

Ljungqvist, who is also a board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), said: "I think legislation is very important that criminalizes certain offenses as detailed in the WADA code because it allows public authorities to intervene where we cannot.

"We as sports authorities have our limited possibilities regulated by our code. We can do testing but we cannot do searches."

He added "this is on my agenda so that Britain does have a law in place at the time of the Games which will allow them to take the same action as the Italians did if a similar situation occurred."

During the Turin Olympics, Italian authorities raided the team house of the Austrian cross-country skiing team, seizing equipment used in blood doping.

The IOC has considered a rule forbidding cities to bid for the Olympics if they don’t have anti-doping laws on the books.

100 Countries Ratify Anti-Doping Convention

WADA announced on Wednesday that 100 countries had ratified the WADA and UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport.

Paraguay ratified the treaty, which has only been in effect for a little more than 21 months. This is UNESCO’s most successful convention in terms of speed of development and implementation.

“Never before have global anti-doping efforts been stronger or more focused on providing an honest and equitable playing environment for athletes,” said Koichiro Matsuura, UNESCO’s director general.

The Convention is designed to ensure a consistent approach to anti-doping efforts and compel governments into action, such as restricting the supply of performance-enhancing substances and methods, curtailing trafficking and regulating dietary and nutritional supplements.

…Briefs

…An Australian radio station is on trial for defamation after it said cyclist Mark French doped. French, who represented Australia at the Beijing Games is suing Melbourne-based Triple M in a state court. In the broadcast where French was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, he was also called "un-Australian" and "a dirty, stinking, dobbing cyclist." French was given a two-year suspension for doping in 2004 but later had his name cleared of any wrongdoing.

… Bulgaria national weightlifting coach Plamen Asparuhov resigned from his position, accepting responsibility for a doping scandal that prevented Bulgaria from sending a weightlifting team to the Beijing Olympics. "I took the moral responsibility for everything that happened to our team," Asparuhov said. Eight members of the men's team and three women tested positive during out-of-competition tests last June. The Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation then withdrew its team from the Games. Two lifters were banned for life by the International Weightlifting Federation while the others were banned for four years. Asparuhov hopes they can compete again. "These athletes should be given a chance for training and getting back to competitions after two years," Asparuhov said. "This is the only way we could have a strong team for the London Olympics in 2012." Olympic Champion Grant Hackett said swimming authorities are “being extremely naïve” in the fight against doping. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

… Olympic champion Grant Hackett said swimming authorities are not catching every drug cheat. "I simply cannot accept medalists at the Olympic Games and at some world championships are not tested for blood," Hackett said. "We are being extremely naive to think we are catching the drug cheats in sport and that the net is closing when blood samples aren't taken at a major meet like the Olympics." He added "I simply cannot accept medalists at the Olympic Games and at some world championships are not tested for blood," Hackett said. He added "We are talking about world titles. Samples should be taken, especially those who win medals. They should be stored for years as technology catches up with cheats. Our sport is a great sport and the clean ones deserve the peace of mind that everything humanly possible is being done to nail cheats."

Media Watch

Ann Gripper writes in London’s Daily Mirror that strict drug testing in professional football is “the best thing” to happen for the sport in a long time.

A Cycling News editorial discusses the politics of anti-doping.

Written by Ed Hula III.