IOC chief wants more clarity on doping roles
Bach reinforces that WADA should be completely overhauled
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said yesterday he wants governments to do more to combat drugs in sport following the Russian doping scandal that rocked the buildup to the Rio Olympics.
Reinforcing his belief that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should be completely overhauled, Bach said it was time governments played a more active role to help create a better and more transparent system of tackling cheats.
“This has had to happen together with WADA because WADA, in the fight against doping, is the platform,” Bach told the Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly. “We [also] need the commitment of government. Together with governments, we want to make WADA more efficient.”
The IOC and WADA have been at odds over their roles in dealing with anti-doping cases after WADA led calls for Russia to be banned from Rio following allegations of state-backed doping.
Clearer system needed
The IOC opted not to ban Russia, instead leaving the decision to individual sports. But it believes a clearer system should be established, taking the key decisions away from sports and national federations.
“We think the whole antidoping system should be independent from sports organisations with regard to testing and sanctioning,” Bach said. “The system has to be more transparent ... we have to be very clear who is responsible for what: testing, compliance, sanctioning.
While the IOC and WADA have been at loggerheads over the handling of Russia’s eligibility to compete in Rio, the IOC has convened a summit in Switzerland next month before a global doping conference in 2017. Former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins said he needed permission to use a banned substance to treat his asthma to ensure he was “back on a level playing field.”
The British rider’s confidential medical information featured in one of the leaks resulting from an alleged Russian-led cyberattack on the World Anti-Doping Agency database. The eight-time Olympic medallist was given three injections of an antiinflammatory drug between 2011 and 2013.
Wiggins insisted earlier there was “nothing new” about his need for asthma medication but he has now given an interview to the BBC to defend his need for a “Therapeutic Use Exemption” that allows athletes to use otherwisebanned substances because of a verified medical need. “This was to cure a medical condition,” Wiggins said in the interview, which was broadcast yesterday. “This wasn’t about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage.”