IWF Executive taking firm stance for a clean sport
On the eve of the 2006 Qualification World Championships in Santo Domingo, the IWF Executive Board reconfirmed its relentless battle against doping in the sport it had started 30 years ago. In a close and detailed study of the doping controls carried out in 2006 since 1st January up to the Championships, the Board stated with regret that the number of positive findings was higher than in previous years. Up until the World Championships the IWF alone had conducted 1233 tests, of which 37 male and 16 female competitors returned a positive sample. This higher figure was partly due to more intensive and more extensive testing, partly due to brand new analysis methods introduced by the Cologne laboratory (where the IWF has most of its testing analysed) in the middle of the year.
It had to be noted that four countries had 3 or more positives: Argentina, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia. The IWF has obliged the National Federations concerned to conducting a specific investigation into each and every case, detecting also which individuals ? coaches, doctors ? are also responsible and take the necessary sanctions against them. Besides that, permanent controls would be imposed on the countries concerned ? at their cost ? including the obligation to implement an Educational and Prevention Program.
In the same meeting the Executive Board reconfirmed its resolution from before Athens, i.e. that any athlete found positive in the 2004 Olympic Games would be banned from participation in Beijing 2008. Even if they can take part in the Qualification events, their results will not be counted in the qualification of the country.
