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WADA to Revise Anti-Doping Code

By Jessica | Permalink | No Comments | November 18th, 2006 | Trackback

WADA is likely to be revising its Anti-Doping code in the next year. President Dick Pound said that the International Association of Athletics Federations has suggested raising the penalty for a serious doping violation from a two-year suspension to a four-year suspension. “That is a suggestion that has come forward, and it will be considered by the Review Committee,” Pound said. “I’m not quite sure what decision will be made on that, but the consensus will be reflected in the draft code that we send out shortly after our meeting.” Other potential changes include the elimination of a B sample - apparently some think the A sample is enough, as the science has improved over the years. Thankfully, there are also some who believe the B sample should remain as an insurance policy against anything improper in the analysis of the A sample.

With regard to the French lab’s admitted errors in dealing with Floyd Landis’ B sample, Pound said, “The code contemplates minor errors that don’t affect the ability and the analysis (of the lab). Ideally, of course, you don’t want there to be any errors, administrative or otherwise, that may get corrected in the process. We just have to wait and see. This is kind of an unusual situation. It’s entirely possible that a lot of this information has been illegally obtained, and that there may be consequences arising from that.”

An unusual situation, indeed, Mr. Pound. And the focus here - in my everso humble opinion - should be on assuring the peloton and the entire cycling world that it’s a perfecly clean and error-free process, not on pointing fingers. The bottom line is that there actually is a common goal here between the organizations which regulate the sport and the athletes who participate in it - no one wants a dirty sport. No one.

You can read the rest of the story here.

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