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Six Austrians banned for life from Olympic Games
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-04-26 08:44
Six Austrian biathletes and cross-country skiers, who were found guilty in a doping scandal at last year's Turin Winter Olympics, have been banned for life from the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday.
IOC vice president Thomas Bach told a press briefing that the decision was made by the IOC executive board following an investigation into alleged blood doping violations by the Austrian cross-country and biathlon teams.
"The Executive Board of the IOC approved the recommendations of the Disciplinary Commission (DC) set up by the IOC in February 2006 and composed of Bach, Denis Oswald and Sergey Budka," the IOC said in a statement.
The IOC statement identified the six Austrians as biathletes Wolfgang Perner and Wolfgang Rottmann, and cross-country skiers Martin Tauber, Juergen Pinter, Johannes Eder, Roland Diethart and Christian Hoffmann.
Italian police raided the lodgings of Austria's cross-country and biathlon teams during the Turin Games in February 2006, seizing alleged doping substances and equipment. The raid was triggered by the presence of former Austrian coach Walter Mayer, who was implicated in a blood-doping case at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and banned by the IOC from the Turin Olympics.
The IOC received documents on the case from Italian criminal investigators last month and held hearings earlier this month.
In addition to the police raids, Olympic drug-testers conducted surprise doping checks on 10 Austrians. The tests came back negative, but the IOC can impose sanctions without positive doping tests, relying on police evidence or proof of possession of doping substances.
It's the first time the IOC has punished athletes without a positive or missed doping test, but Bach said that possession of illegal substances alone violated the IOC's anti-doping code.
"The quantity (of banned substances) is very significant," he said.
Bach said the case was "not closed" yet and there would be more hearing next month.
"The IOC has taken an important step in the fight against doping, " said Bach.
"This shows the IOC's clear determination to fight doping with zero tolerance."
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