Gregory Ioannidis, the lawyer for Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, accused World Anti-Doping Agency head Dick Pound of being prejudiced against his two clients. The sprinters are facing a two-year ban for missing a dope test at the 2004 Athens Games. They denied avoiding the test and that a motorcycle accident they suffered, which sent them to the hospital for four days, was not faked.
Ioannidis told Reuters that Pound said Monday lawyers for the sprinters have delayed the case, which is still pending at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), on purpose. He said “his implication that lawyers are responsible for the delay has no foundation or substance and is wholly unfair and prejudicial. Once again the head of WADA expresses views that distort reality. Comments from high-ranking sporting officials, indicating the guilt of my clients…seriously jeopardise and damage the integrity and independence of the process”.
Pound, a lawyer, told the BBC Monday that lawyers were delaying the process, hoping it will be forgotten. “We are now coming up to two years from the Athens Games and the case still hasn’t been heard yet. What happens…is the lawyer for the defendants try to delay things for as long as they can in the hope people will lose interest, or forget, or evidence will disappear”.
Pound also admitted to the BBC it is almost impossible to get ahead of drug cheats, but says better tests are being developed to narrow the gap. He said WADA had been “spectacularly successful” since it was set up in 1999, but still had a long way to go to drive drugs from sport.
Meanwhile Austrian biathlete Wolfgang Rottman announced his retirement Tuesday. He’s the second team member to quit in the wake of doping raids at the Turin Games.
Following the raids Rottman fled Italy with teammate Wolfgang Perner. Both admitted they “may have used illegal methods” during the Games and were dropped from the team for leaving without permission. Perner announced his retirement Monday.
The tests came back negative but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Italian police are continuing the investigation.
