Dick Pounder NAILS a CHEATER!!!!

CTV.ca News Staff

A banned Austrian ski coach whose appearance at the Olympics triggered
anti-doping raids is in protective custody following a bizarre chase.

Walter Mayer's attempt to evade Italian police ended Sunday evening
when he crashed his car into a police barrier in Paternion, about 25
kilometres from the Austrian border.

Mayer was driving back to his native Austria just hours after the
Italian police raided the Olympic residences of Austria's biathalon and
cross-country ski teams in a search for banned substances.

He had pulled over to take a nap, according to a police statement. A
local resident saw him and told police. When the police investigated,
Mayer woke up and sped away, striking and slightly injuring an officer.

At this point, it isn't known whether Mayer will be criminally charged
with anything, and authorities aren't saying whether they searched his
vehicle for doping substances or equipment.

Mayer used to be Austria's nordic team coach. He was banned from the
Olympics after being suspected of performing blood transfusions at the
2002 Salt Lake City Games. The suspension ends after the 2010 Games in
Vancouver.

In a statement issued Sunday night, the Austrian Ski Federation said
Sunday it had ended its relationship with Mayer.

Raid reaction

Austria's cross-country and biathlon teams were furious Sunday in the
wake of a raid by Italian police officers looking for evidence in an
anti-doping probe.

Italian authorities searched the teams' residences late Saturday and
early Sunday. Col. Angelo Agovino, commander of the Carabinieri police
force in Turin, said his officers had "confiscated material of various
origin ... which will have to undergo laboratory analysis."

They reportedly found vials and syringes.

The sweep was the first ever police anti-doping raid on Olympic
athletes.

The Austrians insist they're clean, and say they're being treated as
criminals. They say the red-eye raid may have been within the police's
rights, but depriving the skiiers of sleep is wrong.

Cross-country skier Martin Tauber said he wound up staying up all night
before Sunday's 4x10km cross country relay. He and his tired teammates
ended up finishing in last place.

"They absolutely ruined the race," Tauber said. "I was already a little
bit tired yesterday."

The team of Tauber, Juergen Pinter, Roland Diethart and Johannes Eder
were among the six Austrian cross-country skiers and four biathletes
who were given surprise drug tests by the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) while the police were conducting their search.

"We were surprised in our room," Pinter said.

"Suddenly the police came in and didn't let us leave on the night
before the competition. This happened without any positive result from
doping control in the team. There's definitely no doping in the
Austrian team. It's crazy."

"They weren't even allowed to make a phone call," said Eric Wagner, a
spokesman for the Austrian cross-country team. "They checked every
drink, every food, and they took a lot of stuff with them. They came
around 9 and stayed until 12, and then took the athletes away to be
tested."

According to Dick Pound, the Canadian in charge of the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the investigation began after officials
discovered blood-doping equipment in Austria connected to Mayer.

After WADA learned that Mayer was with the Austrians in Italy, the
agency notified the IOC, which in turn tipped off the Italian police.

Mayer was not with the teams when police conducted the raids.

"It's true that Walter Mayer slept in our accommodations here the night
after he arrived, but only then," said Alfred Eder, a trainer for the
Austrian biathlon team.

IOC medical commission chief Arne Ljungqvist said the IOC had no
information on the result of the police raid and investigation.

"We will wait for the results of the raid with great interest," he
said.

The test results on the Austrians competitors will be known within two
days. The athletes took urine tests covering the "full menu" of banned
substances, including the endurance-enhancer EPO, he said.


Pound said: "I do think the message is that the sportsmen and the
public authorities are prepared to work together and can work together
to try and keep competitions clean."

While police involvement in a case like this may be surprising, Italian
anti-doping laws treating doping as a criminal offence.

With a report from CTV's Jed Kahane and files from the Associated Press