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Lifetime ban for atheletes testing positive
Greensboro (North Carolina), Dec 04: USA Track & Field`s board of directors voted unanimously to ban for life athletes who test positive for steroids.
Greensboro (North Carolina), Dec 04: USA Track & Field's board of directors voted unanimously to ban for life athletes who test positive for steroids.
The "zero-tolerance" policy would also ban the athletes' coaches. The proposal will go to a USATF subcommittee, and from there to the full federation for a final vote Sunday, the last day of the group's annual meeting.
"Right now, it's the right way to go," board member and six-time Olympic medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee said yesterday.
"People can see we have been serious. ... The last two, three months ... Ended up hurting our sport."
The IOC, US Olympic Committee and the IAAF have been critical of the USATF for its handling of a 1999 positive steroid test by runner Jerome Young, who was cleared to compete at the 2000 Olympics.
Young, a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that won the gold at Sydney, has said he never committed doping offense.
Young won golds in the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay at the World Championships in Paris in August.
USATF has said it is bound by an arbitration ruling that protects anonymity in what it refers to as "the Olympic case" and all others from 1996 to 2000.
"I think the no-tolerance will say to all who participate in the sport, 'Don't even think about it'," said United States sprinter Jon Drummond, another USATF board member.
USATF chief executive Craig Masback and others said they expect the policy could ultimately be challenged in court. But Masback said he believes the lifetime ban will stand up.
"In talking to our athletes and our coaches, they think it will act as a deterrent," he said.
Bureau Report
The "zero-tolerance" policy would also ban the athletes' coaches. The proposal will go to a USATF subcommittee, and from there to the full federation for a final vote Sunday, the last day of the group's annual meeting.
"Right now, it's the right way to go," board member and six-time Olympic medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee said yesterday.
"People can see we have been serious. ... The last two, three months ... Ended up hurting our sport."
The IOC, US Olympic Committee and the IAAF have been critical of the USATF for its handling of a 1999 positive steroid test by runner Jerome Young, who was cleared to compete at the 2000 Olympics.
Young, a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that won the gold at Sydney, has said he never committed doping offense.
Young won golds in the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay at the World Championships in Paris in August.
USATF has said it is bound by an arbitration ruling that protects anonymity in what it refers to as "the Olympic case" and all others from 1996 to 2000.
"I think the no-tolerance will say to all who participate in the sport, 'Don't even think about it'," said United States sprinter Jon Drummond, another USATF board member.
USATF chief executive Craig Masback and others said they expect the policy could ultimately be challenged in court. But Masback said he believes the lifetime ban will stand up.
"In talking to our athletes and our coaches, they think it will act as a deterrent," he said.
Bureau Report