OLYMPIC BOSS CALLS FOR WAR ON DRUG CHEATS

AUSTRALIA'S Olympic chief yesterday demanded drug-cheating athletes be
jailed and their dealers in anabolic steroids face life sentences.

John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee, said suppliers
of hard sports drugs should be subject to the same penalties as narcotics
traffickers.

He called on State and federal governments to introduce the toughest
criminal penalties in the world for users and traders of sports drugs,
including jail sentences of up to two years for cheating athletes.

He said the current criminal penalties were inadequate when there was
evidence anabolic steroid abuse had outstripped that of heroin or cocaine in
the general community.

"If we are to ensure that the 2000 Olympic Games are not remembered as the
Drug Games, immediate action is required," he said.

He said the current sports drug penalties, which ranged from fines to a
maximum penalty of two years in jail, were significantly lighter than those
for narcotics and were not a sufficient deterrent.

In a submission to Prime Minister John Howard and State leaders, Mr Coates
sought a commitment from all governments to introduce uniform, strict
penalties.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Amanda Vanstone said last night the State
and Commonwealth attorneys-general were already considering a similar
proposal.

""The Commonwealth and the State attorneys are consulting on a draft report
on serious drug offences, which includes this proposal," he said.

A spokesman for Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said he was ""very
sympathetic", but would need to look closely at the detail of the AOC plan.

Mr Coates said he had informed International Olympic Committee president
Juan Antonio Samaranch of the proposal and hoped other countries would adopt
it at the IOC's world anti-doping summit in February.

The AOC has also toughened its own penalties on Olympic athletes who are
found guilty of using serious performance-enhancing drugs like anabolic
steroids, beta-2 agonists, human growth hormone (HGH), erythropoietin (EPO).

Mr Coates said any member of the 2000 Olympic team who committed a serious
doping offence would be required to return all grants from the AOC and the
Foster's Sports Foundation.

He said this could amount to between $100,000 and $500,000.

The AOC would also encourage all athletes to make the same commitment to
their personal sponsors to pay back the money if they were exposed as drug
cheats.

Olympic athletes contacted yesterday were highly supportive of the AOC
initiative.

""I think it's a very bold move and will set Australia up as the benchmark
against drugs," AOC Athletes' Commission member Nicole Stevenson, a retired
Olympic swimming medallist, said.

""People might ask how sports drugs can be put in the same category as
heroin, but some of the drugs athletes are taking can also cause serious
illness and death."

Olympic sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor was enthusiastic about the
proposal.

""I think that's fabulous - putting in harder penalties is a great idea,"
she said.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst