WADA considers change of 8-year limitation statute

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-10-18 9:18:19

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has received suggestions to extend its eight-year limitation to 14 years in order to have more time collecting evidence to catch drug cheats in sport.

The suggestion is likely a result of controversies over the recent Lance Armstrong case where the US Anti-Doping Agency stripped the famous American cyclist of all his competition results, including seven Tour de France titles, dated back to 1998.

WADA's eight-year statute of limitations, however, threw doubts over USADA's action.

WADA president John Fahey thought changes must be made to adapt the World Anti-Doping Code to new situations.

"We constantly adapt and have our code to be effective with changing circumstances. You need to change the rules," said Fahey on Wednesday when he attended WADA's Asian Anti-Doping Education Symposium here.

"One of the suggestions is the current statute of limitations to be extended from eight years to 14 yeras," he said. "Some case showed that it takes a long time to get the evidence to catch up with cheats."

"You don't want a technical woe to say 'oh it's too late. Eight years has gone.' So more time is needed to catch more cheats," he added.

WADA initiated a consultation process last November designed to update and amend the Code and after several discussion by WADA's executive committee, a Code drafting team will work out a final draft for approval at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg in November, 2013.

Among all the suggested changes, Fahey thought the International Olympic Committee's Osaka Rule stands the best chance to be included in the revised Code.

"That is a suggestion coming from many many organizations and i think that one will probably be given some recognition in the Code next year," he said.

The international Court of Arbitration for Sport last year threw out the so-call IOC Osaka Rule that banned athletes whose had served a drug-related suspension of more than six months from the following Olympic Games.

Posted in: Miscellany

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