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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 |
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