Danish Doping Rule Adds Pressure To Boa Ban

The Danish Sports Confederation has withdrawn rules forbidding former doping offenders from representing its country in the Olympic Games – a move that could increase pressure on the British Olympic Association to do the same.

The Danish body explained that the decision was a reaction to last month’s ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that an International Olympic Committee (IOC) ban on convicted drug cheats was “invalid and unenforceable”.

The IOC’s Rule 45, created in 2008, had disqualified any athlete who had received a doping suspension of six months or more from competing in the next Olympic Games.

CAS’s ruling followed a joint request for arbitration filed by the United States Olympic Committee and the IOC itself – with the decision set to clear the way for US athlete LaShawn Merritt to defend his Olympic 400 metres title at London 2012.??

The CAS ruling could also force the BOA to re-think its regulations – potentially reopening the door for 100m sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar to compete at future Olympic Games.??

BOA chairman Colin Moynihan told media immediately after the CAS ruling he would do everything in his power to keep the BOA bylaw in place.