Lausanne, Switzerland: Four months after the highs of the London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee is turning to less uplifting matters — drug-tainted medals from past Games, ethics violations in ticket sales and suspensions of national governing bodies.
The fate of Lance Armstrong’s bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games and doping cases involving five medallists from the 2004 Athens Olympics are high on the agenda for the IOC’s two-day executive board meeting, which starts on Tuesday in Lausanne.
Also on the table are proposed sanctions against Olympic officials and agents accused of unauthorised sale of London tickets and the proposed suspension of the Indian Olympic Association for political interference.
The IOC board also will receive reports on preparations for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. With concerns mounting about the state of progress in the Brazilian city, the IOC will be looking for assurances that the first Olympics in South America are on track.
Doping issues will be at the forefront of the meetings, which have been moved to a Lausanne hotel because the International Olympic Committee headquarters are still being repaired after flood damage caused by a burst water main.
Five doping tests from 2004 came back positive earlier this year when the IOC reanalysed about 100 Athens samples to catch any drug cheats who had avoided detection.
The IOC held disciplinary hearings for the five East European athletes — all medallists — over the weekend and will now consider disqualifying them and removing the medals.
The group includes shot putt gold medalist Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine and three bronze winners — women’s shot putter Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia, discus thrower Irina Yatchenko of Belarus and weightlifter Oleg Perepechenov of Russia.
Their names were first reported last week by German public broadcaster ARD and their identities confirmed by two Olympic officials with knowledge of the cases. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the cases remain confidential while the disciplinary process is ongoing.
The fifth athlete is Ivan Tskikhan of Belarus, who won silver in the hammer in Athens. He was publicly identified by the Belarus Olympic Committee and sent home from the London Games.
The IOC, meanwhile, wants to get back the bronze medal that Armstrong won in the road time trial in Sydney, following the damning US Anti-Doping Agency’s report that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005.
The board could decide to strip the medal this week or wait another few weeks until cycling’s governing body has officially notified Armstrong of the loss of all his results since August 1998.
IOC lawyers are studying whether the eight-year statute of limitations applies.
On another matter, the IOC board will act on recommendations from the ethics commission for sanctions in connection with irregularities in the sale of Olympic tickets.
The IOC opened a probe in June after Britain’s Sunday Times reported that national Olympic committee officials and ticket agents in several countries were caught offering tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their face value. The paper turned its evidence over to the IOC, who have been studying it for several months.
The IOC will rule on a proposal to suspend India because of government interference in the national Olympic body’s elections, scheduled for Wednesday. The IOC has told the Indians they must adhere to their own constitution and Olympic Charter and not follow the government sports code.
