Austrian Olympic Committee Fined $1 million for 2006 Doping

Remember this when MLB, Inc. and Gene Orza, Inc. say the WBC will have no problems as Olympic drug testing and standards are just great and infallible. AP Story. The Newsday headline of course is misleading, just referencing a 'crackdown.'

• VIENNA, Austria -- "Austrian Olympic leaders pledged to crack down on national ski team officials after being hit with a $1 million fine by the IOC for the doping scandal at the 2006 Turin Games.

The International Olympic Committee fined the Austrian Olympic Committee on Thursday for failing to prevent the blood doping violations at last year's Winter Olympics. It is the largest fine to be levied by the Switzerland-based body. The decision came a month after the IOC issued lifetime Olympic bans on six Austrian cross-country skiers and biathletes involved in the doping.

• The scandal also cast a shadow over Austria's bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Austrian city of Salzburg is competing against Sochi, Russia, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The IOC said the AOC "breached its obligations under the Olympic Charter, the IOC code of ethics and applicable anti-doping regulations."

• It also said the AOC was guilty of a series of violations despite having received a "severe warning" in 2002 after a blood doping scandal at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

In addition, the IOC also said the evidence proved "significant collusion within the Austrian team, involving not only the athletes, but also coaches, trainers, management and medical personnel" and stressed that the AOC was also responsible for the "acts and omissions" of the national ski federation.

• Earlier this month, an IOC disciplinary panel held hearings in Lausanne, Switzerland, into the role of Austrian Olympic and ski officials in the scandal.

The investigation put several Austrian sports officials under scrutiny, including ski federation chief Peter Schroecksnadel."

• (This is only one of many Olympic doping and drug testing scandals). sm

AP Story from Newsday, 5/24/07

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