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Rogge won't cut list of banned drugs
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Going against the proposals of his predecessor, new Olympic chief Jacques Rogge has ruled out any reduction in the list of banned doping substances for athletes. "With all due respect to Juan Antonio Samaranch, he is not aware of the reality in sports medicine and doping," Rogge said in an interview published by El Mundo daily Tuesday. "I know it because of my profession. It's not possible to reduce the list and we're not going to reduce the list, that's very clear." Rogge, a former Olympic athlete and surgeon by profession, was elected last week as successor to Samaranch, who ran the International Olympic Committee for 21 years. In recent years Samaranch had recommended shortening the list of banned substances in sport, arguing that the list was not realistic. While admitting that the war on drugs could not be won entirely, Rogge said that the "actual level of doping was unacceptable. We'll have to fight to reduce it as much as possible." He said he would push for greater cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Agency, set up in 1999 to coordinate the global campaign against drugs in sports. He also said he was optimistic that the sports world would be able to combat the future threat of doping via genetical engineering. Rogge gave the interview while on a one-day visit to the southern Spanish city of Murcia on Monday for the opening of the 6th summer European Youth Olympic Days competition. Saying he was open to considering golf and rugby as Olympic sports, Rogge stressed there were 10 other sports which were candidates. He gave no details of the 10 but ruled out any changes before the 2008 games in Beijing. Rogge also skirted criticism of the awarding of the Beijing Games given China's human rights record. "I'm very optimistic; we won't have a boycott by anyone in the Beijing Games," Rogge told El Mundo. "The Games influence every country through which they pass," he said. "I can't say what will happen in China; right now, it's impossible to know. But the Games will have a very positive influence in China overall."
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