By DPA
Madrid : Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is convinced that doping tests are working.
“I do not think there is more doping than in the past. We have tougher controls and then the number of positive tests increases. That is the proof that the fight is working better,” Rogge said in an interview with DPA.
“The number of positive tests depends on the number of tests. In Sydney 2000 there were 12 positive tests and in Athens (2004) there were 26. But there was a 25 percent increase in the number of controls, and there will be a 92 percent increase (in relation to Sydney) in Beijing 2008,” he noted.
The IOC president, who participated Thursday at the three-day World Anti-Doping Conference in Madrid, expressed his confidence in testing against illegal substances.
“There are drugs that we cannot control, like the growth hormone, but that could change very quickly because we are making a lot of progress,” Rogge said.
Athlete Marion Jones passed 160 tests before confessing to having taken substances in what was considered doping, but Rogge insisted he still trusts sportsmen and women.
“My position is to trust athletes, but I want to control them,” he noted. “Without proof you cannot have suspicions, but we should not be naive either. There is doping.”
“The cases that are not positive are clean, but we have to implement controls. We know there are drugs that we cannot yet control, that is why we cannot sanction those,” Rogge said.
He insisted he does not agree with the ‘one-hour’ rule, whereby athletes must be available one hour each day for doping testers. This rule applies in Britain while German athletes for instance must be available for tests around the clock.
“I do not agree with that rule. Making athletes be available for just one hour opens the door to manipulation, to masking methods, to substituting urine, to using a catheter. One hour is too narrow,” he said.
Some, including Kazakhstani cyclist Andrey Kashechkin – who tested positive earlier this year – have argued that doping tests violate the fundamental rights of the sports community.
“Lawyer Luc Misson says control should only be the jurisdiction of countries,” Rogge admitted. “But we do not think we can organize (the fight against) doping only with governments, it would be a disaster. Many countries would do nothing. Only the sporting world, along with governments, can help.”
As to the balance between rights and obligations within sports, even outside competitions, Rogge sees no conflict.
“Doing sports is not an obligation, but if you want to take part in competitions you have to accept the rules, which are there to defend clean athletes. They are not arbitrary. We have to take measures to protect clean athletes,” he said.
The future of cheating appears to point in the direction of genetic doping, which Rogge expects “probably within five or 10 years.”
“In the case of genetics I hope it is the opposite to the usual thing and we are ready on time. We have been working for three or four years and we still have five more. That will allow us to have a test ready,” Rogge said.
Expert Sandro Donati has said the Youth Olympic Games will promote doping among athletes aged 14-18. However, Rogge insisted that the games would be suitable for young people.
“The level of the competition will be adapted to the physical abilities of the youngsters. Competition will be limited in time so as not to be too hard. We will institute a doping prevention programme with controls in and outside competitions, and the educational part will also be important,” Rogge stressed.