Olympic Newsdesk -- Austria Doping Saga; World Records Fall in Rome; Olympian Shot

7/27/2009

Austria Said to End Life Ban for Coaches

The Austrian Olympic Committee is on the verge of lifting life bans handed down to biathlon coaches and officials involved in the blood doping scandal at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Austrian media reports say a deal has been struck between the bodies to remove the bans from biathlon manager Markus Gandler and four other coaches and officials.

The AOC's acting secretary general Matthias Bogner has faced pressure from controversial Austrian Ski Federation president Peter Schroecksnadel to pardon those banned in the aftermath of the Turin debacle.

The federation has threatened not to send a biathlon team to the Vancouver Winter Olympics unless the ban on the coaches is lifted.

It would be a huge blow to Austria's medal prospects at the 2010 Games if the biathlon team stayed home.

In February, Austria claimed gold and silver at the biathlon world championships in the men’s 15-km mass start race in Pyeongchang, South Korea. It was the first individual gold for Austria at a world championships since Oslo 2000. Austria also won silver in the men's relay.

Schroecksnadel, Gandler and infamous biathlon coach Walter Mayer are among 10 coaches and athletes who could face trial later this year over charges stemming from the drug scandal at the 2006 Games.

The case grew out of a raid by Italian police during the Turin Olympics at private housing used by Austrian athletes. Among the evidence seized were materials that could be used for blood doping. As well as sanctioning athletes and coaches, the IOC fined the Austrian Olympic Committee $1 million, a fine paid by the Austrian Ski Federation.

Last week, the Austrian government announced it was doubling the amount of money allocated to the Austrian national anti-doping agency. It will now receive $1.6 million in funding each year. The increased budget is set to be used to better educate athletes about doping.

Post-Beijing Drug Cases Get IOC Review

Six athletes from the Beijing Olympics who failed drug tests analyzed after the Games presented their cases to an IOC Disciplinary Commission in Lausanne, Monday.

A three-member commission (the same one which handled the Austrian blood doping affair) heard from all six of the individuals involved in the latest round of Beijing tests.

The six include weightlifter Yudelquis Maridalin Contreras of the Domincan Republic, cyclists Davide Rebellin of Italy and Stefan Schumacher of Germany and Athanasia Tsoumeleka of Greece and Vanja Parisic of Croatia and Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, all in athletics.

According to a statement from the IOC “[t]he decision by the IOC will be taken in due course after deliberation.”

Depending on the IOC’s ruling, the athletes could miss the 2012 Olympics and have their results forfeited.

"It will be the usual hearings and let us see what happens," Thomas Bach, chairman of the commission said Monday.

"There is no fixed timetable for the decisions."

Along with Bach, other members of the commission include IOC members Frank Fredericks, Denis Oswald and Gerhard Heiberg.

Swimmers Smash Records in Rome

The soon-to-be banned high-tech swimsuits are getting one last hurrah as 10 world records have been set in the first two days of the swimming competition at the FINA World Championships in Rome.

Five new world records were set on the opening day of swimming on Sunday, while five more fell by the wayside on Monday.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom and Ariana Kukors each set their second world records in two days -- Sjostrom in the women’s 100m butterfly and Kukors in the women’s 200 IM.

The other world records on Monday were set by Australia’s Brenton Rickard in the men’s 100 breaststroke finals, Rebecca Soni of the U.S. in the women’s 100 breaststroke semifinals and Anastasia Zueva of Russia in the women’s 100 backstroke semis.

On Sunday, world records were set by Germany’s Paul Biedermann in the men’s 400 freestyle finals, Italy’s Federica Pellegrini in the women’s 400 free finals and the Netherlands in the women’s 400 freestyle relay finals.

The FINA world championships will be the last major event that will feature the controversial high-tech swimsuits responsible for the dramatic increase of world records in the last two years. FINA ruled on Friday that the suits will be banned in 2010.

Swimsuits Making a Mockery of Records?

With world records crashing at the FINA World Championships, the Associated Press asks if the world championships are "making a mockery" out of swimming.

Chicago 2016 in NY Times

Efforts by Chicago 2016 to blunt concerns that plans for the Olympics are too costly for city taxpayers are reported in a July 27 article in the New York Times headlined "Recession Shadowing Chicago Bid for Games".

Valerie Jarrett, former vice chair of Chicago 2016 and now a top adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama is profiled in a cover story in the July 26 issue of the New York Times Magazine.

1992 Olympian Slain in Atlanta

Boxing Olympian Vernon Forrest was shot and killed Saturday in Atlanta. Forrest, 38, competed for the U.S. at the 1992 Olympics. He turned professional following the Games.

Forrest was trying to apprehend thieves who attempted to steal his car when he was shot more than six times.

"He was always a good guy, never did anything to anybody, was respected in the boxing community. This is tough for people to take because of who Vernon was," trainer Ronnie Shields told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Forrest is survived by a 12 year old son, Vernon Jr.

Written by Mark Bisson, Greg Oshust, Ed Hula III, and with reporting from Heinz Peter Kreuzer in Germany.

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