BOA welcomes proposed rule as ‘a step in the right direction’
Although the World Anti Doping Agency successfully fought the British Olympic Association’s lifetime Olympic ban pertaining to athletes who have committed serious doping offences, it has plans of its own to potentially introduce a block from the Games.
The latest revisions to the Code include a provision to prevent athletes from competing in the next Games following a doping suspension. It would mean that even if the suspension was over by the time those Games were held, that the athlete in question would be unable to take part.
They would however only be blocked from one edition, in contrast to the BOA’s now-overturned rule.
The provision is just one of a number of proposed changes to the code. It will be debated prior to going forward for final approval in autumn of 2013. The new code would be introduced in 2015.
According to the BBC, the BOA approves the change. “That’s an important step in the right direction, and it’s moving toward reflecting the higher standard that athletes want to see.”
The BOA’s previous ban prevented athletes such as the runner Dwain Chambers and the cyclist David Millar from taking part in the Games. Now that it has been overturned through WADA’s CAS action, Millar stated this week that he would compete in the Games if he was selected to do so.
He’d previously indicated he would likely give the Games a miss as he felt that there was a chance that his participation would lead to criticism. However he told the Times this week that he has revised his position.
“I’m available. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I’ve concluded that if I can be of benefit to the team, I would be happy to help,” he said.
“The most rational thing is to leave it to the selectors to decide. If they think that including me might be in any way detrimental, even if, physically, I could be one of the strongest riders, I will respect any decision they make. But I think I can genuinely help in the road race, and that’s helping Mark.”
The wording of Article 10.15 lays out the details of the proposed one Games ban.
It states as follows: “Where an athlete or other person has been sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation other than under Articles 10.3.3 (Filing Failures and Missed Tests), 10.3.4 (Prohibited Association), 10.4 (Specified Substances), or 10.5.2 (No Significant Fault or Negligence), and Article 10.5.3 (Substantial Assistance) is not applicable, then, as an additional sanction, the athlete or other person shall be ineligible to participate in the next Summer Olympic Games and the next Winter Olympic Games taking place after the end of the period of ineligibility otherwise imposed.”
Prior to the CAS ruling, WADA said that it was not fundamentally opposed to a lifetime ban, providing all the WADA stakeholders agree on it and it is globally implemented. Its resistance to the BOA penalty was because it was not part of the current code and not implemented outside Britain, thus acting as an additional sanction to athletes from there alone.