IOC IN DOCK OVER JAMAICA DOPE TESTS

THE International Olympic Committee have been accused of failing to follow correct procedures after opting not to investigate a significant number of positive drugs tests, including those of Jamaican sprinters, discovered during the re-analysis of samples from the 2008 Olympics. German broadcaster ARD has revealed neither the IOC nor the World Anti-Doping Agency acted after the presence of the banned steroid clenbuterol was detected in the urine samples of ‘a number’ of athletes. The IOC and WADA were united in statements issued yesterday, claiming the levels of clenbuterol were so low they may well have been the result of contaminated meat. This was the defence two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador used unsuccessfully when he was banned for having the substance in his system. But there is no legal threshold for clenbuterol and former WADA president Dick Pound told ARD: ‘It seems highly unusual that the correct procedures were not followed in this case. Jamaica is known to have a problem. And it’s known to have astonishing success, particularly in athletics in short distances. If you’re doing your job properly you should track down everything you possibly can. And not leave any stone unturned.’ Pound’s view was echoed by the director of Germany’s WADA-accredited laboratory in Kreischa. Detlef Thieme said: ‘It’s hard to imagine that an internationally prestigious association would still do such a thing today. Suspicious facts and circumstances always have to be confirmed.’ Meanwhile, athletics is bracing itself for more controversy after the IAAF revealed they had been hacked by the Russian Fancy Bears group, who are expected to publish therapeutic use exemption (TUE) data. Athletes who have applied for TUEs have been contacted and IAAF president Lord Coe said: ‘Our first priority is to the athletes who have provided information they believed would be secure and confidential.’