PARIS, France, October 16. JEAN-Francois Lamour, the Vice President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, has resigned from his position and is no longer pursuing the presidency or the organization. WADA is searching for a new president since the announcement that Canadian Dick Pound decided to leave his post.
Lamour, from France, was considered one of the favorites to replace Pound, but indicated at a news conference that he didn't believe WADA was firmly behind the opposition of drug use in sports. Lamour is a former Olympic champion in fencing. Australian John Fahey is also considered a leading option to replace Pound.
"I don't want to be the president of a body that does not have the strength and the dynamism to fight against doping," Lamour said at his press conference. "WADA has been put under pressure by lobbies. The number of those who want to foist doping on sport, those who favor the setting up of cheating is increasing and it is not how I see things."