Doping athletes face 4-year ban

2007-10-16 07:42

London - Some athletes caught using banned substances could soon face a four-year suspension for a first doping offense.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, which released the final draft of its latest World Anti-Doping Code on Monday, proposes increasing the ban from two years to four if there are "aggravating circumstances." The code still must be approved next month at a meeting in Madrid, Spain.

The new code also includes incentives to alert authorities to doping violations or to admit doping. A ban could be reduced by 75% for any athlete who assists officials in finding other drug cheats, and admitting to drug use before testing positive would cut a potential ban up to 50%.

Under the new rules, the use of substances whose performance-enhancing effects remain in the body for more than two years would qualify as an aggravating circumstance. That also could include certain anabolic steroids, Wada president Dick Pound said in a telephone interview.

Other examples include an athlete using or possessing multiple banned substances or someone involved in a larger doping scheme.

"We will continue to suspend other athletes for two years, depending on what they use and under what circumstances they are taken," Pound said from his Montreal office.

Lesser sanctions can be applied if an athlete proves the substance was not intended to enhance performance.

Also, an athlete will be considered guilty of a doping violation if that person accumulates a combination of three missed tests and/or fails to provide information of their whereabouts within an 18-month period.

"We're trying to get a standard," said Pound, who will step down as president next month after three terms.

The 82-page document, in its third and final version, took about a year to complete.

"I'm not unhappy with any of the changes made," Pound said. "It reflects a consensus of the governments on one hand and the sports federations on the other."

- AP