IAAF symposium calls for four-year doping bans

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Oct 2 (Reuters) Athletes and officials from athletics' world governing body have called for a return to four-year bans for sportsmen and women who participate in ''proven aggravated doping cases''.

The calls came at the end of a three-day international symposium organised by the IAAF on the subject of anti-doping.

''We were forced to reduce four-year bans to two-year bans in 1997 because of rulings in civil courts along with pressure from other sporting federations who felt that four-year bans were too much, but I think times have changed,'' IAAF vice-president Arne Ljungvist said today.

''We are not talking about individuals being caught for first-time abuse of simple stimulants where we think a two-year ban is still sufficient, but rather of having four-year bans for cases of systematic or deliberate manipulation such as was seen in the BALCO case or the case in Athens with athletes staging traffic accidents to avoid being tested.'' The IAAF has called for the introduction of four-year bans across the sporting world several times in the past, but Ljungvist said the time was now ripe to reconsider the issue.

''Greater public awareness about the methods used by cheats, the confidence generated by better testing and the acceptance of specific sports' jurisprudence under the umbrella of the court of arbitration for sport have given us the confidence to press for this again,'' Ljungvist said.

The issue could now be presented to the IAAF's Congress at its next meeting in August 2007 but Ljungvist acknowledged that the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) would also have to support the argument in the drafting of its new code.

''If we hear from WADA that they are prepared to back four-year bans in the case of serious doping then I am confident that the IAAF Congress would adopt this plan and if WADA are on board then it would automatically apply to all other Olympic sports -- unless those sports want to risk being excluded from the Games by the International Olympic Committee.

The call for lengthier bans was strongly supported by athletes present at the symposium, including Britain's world marathon champion Paula Radcliffe and Bahama's former 200 metres world champion Debbie Ferguson.

''The greed and deception of the few are tainting our sport and its credibility for the majority,'' Ferguson warned delegates.

''Almost all of the athletes I have spoken to say that two year bans are not enough of a deterrent for athletes who are considering doping.'' Reuters PDS GC1946