In the fight against doping in sport, would the solution come from the Paralympic movement? Maybe. Faced with a growing number of positive cases in doping tests, particularly in weightlifting, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is determined to take action. With a double target: cheating athletes, of course, but also their countries.
The idea is new. And it could well inspire certain international federations, even the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). To fight more effectively against doping, the IPC plans not only to increase the number of controls, but also to financially sanction the national Paralympic committees of athletes caught red-handed. Better: an athlete testing positive could lead his entire delegation, his country seeing the number of its quotas for the Paralympic Games reduced in his discipline, or even eliminated.
In principle, the idea may seem unfair. The act of a single individual would have consequences for their entire team, depriving some of their partners of one or more places at the Games. But by proposing such a measure, the IPC wishes to involve countries more directly, via their Paralympic committees, in the fight against doping.
In recent years, the scourge of doping has taken on a new dimension in the disabled sports movement. Over the past 14 months, 13 weightlifters have tested positive. Two of them were following tests carried out last April, during the world championships in Dubai. According to Xavier Gonzalez, the executive director of the IPC, it is common to hear positive athletes admit to having never been informed by their federation or their national Paralympic committee of the rules of the fight against doping, the risks involved or the measures to be taken. take to stay away from cheating. “In a large number of countries, athletes are not, or poorly, informed, and rarely given much support on these issues,” he explains.
Faced with this constant, the IPC wants to involve countries, their federations and their Paralympic committees more strongly. Even if it means threatening them with financial and sporting sanctions. “They must take responsibility,” suggests Xavier Gonzalez. They can no longer stand aside and not tackle the problem head on. »
As Keir Radnedge explains, the sanctions proposals will be submitted to the IPC Steering Committee next October. If validated, they would be effective from January 1, 2015. The revolution in progress.
