Drug cheats banned for life?

2008-02-13 17:01

London - UK Athletics (UKA) on Thursday launched a review of its anti-doping policy that could result in athletes who are caught using performance-enhancing drugs being banned from representing Great Britain for life.

The review, which will be conducted by an advocate of lifetime bans, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, was announced a day after UKA reluctantly agreed to select sprinter Dwain Chambers for next month's World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain.

Chambers served a two-year ban for using the banned anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) up to 2006 and, after a failed attempt to convert to American football, is now trying to rebuild his track career.

He had threatened legal action if he was excluded from the Great Britain team after winning last weekend's 60m race at the national trials.

Announcing the review, UKA Chief Executive Niels de Vos said: "Athletics must act now, and must act decisively, to strengthen its own ability to select the athletes it wants to select.

"Representing Great Britain must remain a privilege and not a right and the review will ensure the sport never finds itself in such a position again."

Grey-Thompson, who has won 11 gold medals over the course of five Paralympics, said the review would look at whether lifetime bans could be introduced without infringing British or European law, or the regulations of the world athletics' governing body, the IAAF, and the World Anti Doping Agency (Wada).

She added: "My mandate is clear and I believe the time is right for UKA to play a leading role in driving change through athletics to ensure that drug offenders cannot walk back into our sport unchallenged and untested."

- AFP