Sydney 2000 Olympics
IOC's banned-drugs list may grow longer, official says
Posted: Tuesday August 18, 1998 04:30 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The number of substances on the banned list may be increased for the Sydney 2000 Olympics despite a push for a reduction, an International Olympic Committee member said Tuesday.
Australian Phil Coles, a member of the IOC and AOC, said the current list of banned substances was too long but was only likely to grow before the next Olympics.
"There is an extensive list called prohibited substances which is too long and very complicated," Coles said. "The list belongs to the IOC and its medical commission. It will be very hard to reduce, in fact they might even add to it."
Leading Australian officials want the IOC to remove substances found in common medicines which provide no real performance-boost but cause unwary athletes to test positive.
"It's pretty hard to put a handle on it," said Coles. "You and I can go to a chemist when we have got a headache but athletes can't."
Coles criticized comments made by IOC medical commission chief Prince Alexandre de Merode in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro this week.
De Merode said the IOC should continue its drive to stop the use of doping substances and strive to standardize doping regulations and improve education.
De Merode criticized IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch for recently proposing a reduction in the list of banned drugs.
"The president can have his opinions," de Merode told Le Figaro. "I do not understand, and they make me aghast."
Coles said of de Merode: "A lot of people are hoping he might retire. He's been there such a long time. You never know what he's going to say."
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