Agence France Presse
Kuala Lumpur, August 3: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will take action against any Olympic athlete if they are found guilty of the latest doping allegations rocking the sport of track and field, IOC president Thomas Bach said here Monday.
Bach said it is up to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to investigate the allegations, including that one-third of medals in endurance races at the Olympics and World Championships from 2001 to 2012 were won by athletes who recorded suspicious blood tests. “If there should be cases involving results at Olympic Games, the IOC will react with zero tolerance with our usual policy,” Bach asserted.
The report disclosed by German broadcaster ‘ARD’ and ‘The Sunday Times’ newspaper in Britain said that 146 medals – including 55 gold medals – in disciplines ranging from the 800 metres to the marathon at the Olympics and World Championships were won by athletes who have recorded suspicious tests.
The IOC has previously stripped medals from athletes who have been retroactively found guilty of doping offenses dating back to the time of the Games. The IOC also stores Olympic doping samples for 10 years for possible retesting.
“We have full confidence in the inquiry by WADA,” Bach said. “If needed, we will follow suit … and do everything to protect clean athletes.”
Bach discussed the doping allegations Monday with WADA chief Craig Reedie. “We made it very clear and we agreed that WADA is our competent partner in the fight against doping and they will inquire into these allegations,” Bach told reporters
“But at this time, we have nothing more than allegations. We have to respect the presumption of innocence of the athletes,” the IOC president added.
On a separate issue, Bach said water pollution will be among the topics for discussion when he travels to Rio de Janeiro for Wednesday’s one-year countdown to the 2016 Olympics.
An investigation report published last week revealed high counts of disease-causing viruses in the sewage-polluted waters where some Olympic competitions will take place. The IOC has since been advised by the World Health Organisation that testing should be expanded to include viruses, not just bacteria. “Doing the water tests is up to the Brazilian authorities,” Bach stated
“They have done so. We have been informed by them that they have done these tests in accordance with the guidelines of WHO and that they have the assurances from WHO that there is no significant risk for the athletes. But, of course, we will continue to monitor this until and including the Olympic competitions,” Bach added.
