IOC Hands Over Olympics Anti-Doping Reins to Court of Arbitration for Sport

Photo Courtesy: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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In a major move heading into the 2016 Rio Olympics, the International Olympic Committee decided to remove itself from the anti-doping process as it relates to handling positive doping tests in Rio. The IOC has decided to hand that responsibility over to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to the Associated Press.

The IOC Executive Board just approved the move, which will eliminate any perception of too much control by the IOC and put the adjudication where it typically winds up anyway as CAS handles most of the positive doping test appeals outside of the Olympics.

Currently, the IOC has had to set up a special disciplinary panel during the Olympics with the panel quickly handling any positive tests that occur during the Olympics. That panel would then move to expel those athletes that test positive, and rectify any of the results the athlete impacted.

The new concept would have positive cases immediately go to special CAS courts that would be on site, with CAS handling the rest of the adjudication independent of the IOC.

This really is a streamlining of a process that’s already mostly been there anyway. CAS typically has special panels already set up to quickly handle athlete appeals during the Olympics. So, instead of CAS handling the appeal, it will handle the initial adjudication as well.

Athlete appeals at this point would then move to a separate part of CAS.

This change is part of a movement, spearheaded by IOC President Thomas Bach, to push anti-doping measures as independent as they possibly can be to eliminate conflicts of interest.

“We are convinced that the adoption of these proposals would lead to a more efficient, more transparent, more streamlined, more cost efficient, more harmonized anti-doping system,” Bach said. “It would better protect the clean athletes and enhance the credibility of sports.”

Full Associated Press Article.

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