Olympic and athletics officials are aiming for better and faster blood testing procedures in areas such as Africa and Russia in the ongoing fight against doping, according to dpa. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge and Lamine Diack, head of the ruling athletics body IAAF, told a news conference on Friday that both bodies will ask the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for better transportation methods and more labs. "We will ask for the simplification of procedures and for more labs," said Rogge after a joint meeting of the IAAF council and the IOC executive board on the eve of the athletics world championships. "The blood profile is an important asset in the fight against doping. It adds to the full menu of testing." The issue was discussed after revelations earlier in the week that the IAAF had not carried out a single blood out-of-competition test in Africa and Russia this year. Of the 35 accredited WADA labs, only one is in Russia (Moscow) and two in Africa (Tunisia and South Africa). "We discussed the difficulties of transport and refrigeration," said Rogge, naming it a technological and financial problem, just like the IAAF did this week. He said "the IOC will be in touch with WADA" over the issue. Blood profiles can lead to target tests or, in the unique case of German speedskater Claudia Pechstein, to sanctions. The five-time Olympic champion Pechstein was banned for two years by the ruling body ISU for suspicious blood values in several tests, but has not submitted a positive test. Pechstein is fighting the ban before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). "It is a very important test case," said Rogge. "It is an acid test if the long-term (blood) profile is validated by the scientific community. If the CAS confirms the ISU ruling it would mean that the test method can not be doubted." The CAS hearing is expected in autumn, the time the IOC and IAAF also finally come to closing the distribution of the 100m medals from the Sydney 2000 Olympics after the orginal winner Marion Jones admitted to doping at the time as part of the Balco laboratory scheme. Greek Ekaterini Thanou came second, but the IOC is reluctant to give her the gold after she disgraced herself in a missed test incident at the 2004 Games in Athens. Diack said "we will have more answers in October," while Rogge said the IOC aims to speed up its review of the Balco saga.
