After Australia recently got tough on performance-enhancing drugs, the World Anti-Doping Agency is looking to follow suit by aiming to double suspensions for those caught cheating from two years to four years.
WADA President John Fahey submitted a draft of the organization’s new code on Sunday, which will be reviewed in December and, if approved, could go into effect as early as 2015. The proposal calls for stiffer penalties regarding anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, masking agents, and trafficking.
“It is clear from the number of submissions we received that there is a strong desire in the world of sport, from governments and within the anti-doping community, to strengthen the sanction,” Fahey said in a statement. “This second draft has done that, doubling the length of suspension for serious offenders and widening the scope for anti-doping organizations to impose lifetime bans.”
Australia showed its teeth against doping last week when its Olympic Committee accepted a proposal that will force its athletes to sign a declaration stating they have no doping history. Athletes caught lying could face up to seven years in jail, and those unwilling to sign the declaration will be ineligible for the Olympics.
