BOA chiefs not for turning over stance on drug cheats

Published on Wednesday 23 July 2008 23:36

BRITISH Olympics chiefs intend to stand firm on their controversial rule that imposes life bans on drugs cheats, the organisation's chairman Lord Moynihan has revealed.

The British Olympic Association had promised to review the bylaw that currently offers no way back for convicted athletes following last week's unsuccessful High Court bid by sprinter Dwain Chambers to be allowed to compete in Beijing next month.

Chambers served a two-year ban imposed after testing positive for the designer steroid THG in 2003 and is now back on the track in non-Olympic competitions.

Indeed, the International Olympic Committee, the Games' governing body, does not impose lifetime bans, allowing convicted cheats to return after missing the next Games. But Lord Moynihan insists the BOA's stance had already given a strong message to future competitors and there were no plans therefore to step into line with the IOC.

Speaking at a lunch organised by the Sports Journalists' Association in London, he said: "Last week was a step in the right direction for this country and for the BOA. The bylaw is consistently under review, but if anybody thinks I have had members of the International Olympic Committee ringing me saying we should move away from the eligibility bylaws, that absolutely hasn't happened. If anything, it has reinforced the minds of the athletes and the IOC that the lifetime ban is proportionate, as the judge found.

"Nobody should be under any illusion that the Olympic Games should go one step further than any other international sporting event. So sending out a signal to young people is part of the selection criteria. It is not likely we will move away from the lifetime ban.

"I hope that one of the lessons that came out of last week was that the consequence of taking drugs is that you will not be a member of Team GB in 2012 or any future Games. So should there have been individuals considering it, they would have received a very clear lesson last week – and that is forget it."

Moynihan cited comments made by Scottish cyclist David Millar, who has previously been banned himself for substance abuse, following the Chambers case. He said: "It was interesting listening to David Millar, who said that the world is moving from a culture where drug-taking was commonplace and close to the norm to a world where it is absolutely rejected.

"In effect, what we are seeing is a recognition that if you take drugs to enhance performance in the Olympic movement in this country then you are out. That will act as a strong deterrent to anybody weighing up the consequences, which will be terminal."

Lord Moynihan, who won silver in the 1980 Moscow Games as the cox in the rowing eights, declined to predict how successful British competitors would be in Beijing and London.

UK Sport has already declared it wants 35 medals next month, including a double-figure gold haul, which would see Britain finish eighth. Lord Moynihan admitted the 2012 target was a fourth-place finish but added a note of caution.

He said: "One should be very sensitive about the prediction game because when I look back at Athens and the five gold medals we had, if you took all of the times and worked out the difference between the five silvers, it added up to 0.545 of one second. Then you realise it is a big ask to call a position on a medal table when that difference would have meant the difference between 10th and 17th. So if anyone is able to crystal-ball gaze to that accuracy I will come with them to Ladbrokes after lunch."