Prompted by Tour de France scandals
IOC calls special board meeting to deal with drug crisis
Posted: Friday July 31, 1998 12:03 PM
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Samaranch was quoted as saying the IOC's list of banned drugs could be drastically reduced, but he has since said he was misinterpreted AP |
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Galvanized by the Tour de France drug scandals, the IOC on Friday called a special executive board meeting for next month to deal with the doping crisis in sport.
The International Olympic Committee said president Juan Antonio Samaranch would convene the 11-member board n Lausanne on August 20 "with a single item on the agenda: the fight against doping in sport."
The statement said the board would also discuss reparations for an international conference on doping that the IOC announced this week would be held in January in Lausanne.
The IOC initiatives come amid the widespread doping scandal that has overshadowed the Tour de France, with numerous teams and riders under investigation for use of banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Samaranch caused an international uproar when he was quoted in a Spanish newspaper interview last Sunday as saying the IOC's list of banned drugs should be drastically reduced, and suggesting that only substances which pose a health risk should be prohibited.
Samaranch has not denied making the statements but said he was misinterpreted. He has reassured sports administrators that IOC policy has not changed and that all performance-enhancing drugs should be banned.
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