UK Athletics Chief Executive Niels de Vos has demanded that drug cheats within his sport be subjected to criminal proceedings, and would like police involvement in an attempt to thwart athletes from cheating their way to success.
"Athletics is a sport where we have to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to root out and identify cheats and then, when we have done, not to turn around and welcome them back with open arms two years later."
Those sentiments were in response to disgraced sprinter Dwain Chambers' attempted comeback — an action de Vos told The Telegraph he would like to see fail.
Chambers returned from a two-year anti-doping suspension in 2006, and was permitted to return to the sport under former UK Athletics executive David Moorcraft - a former 5.000m world-record holder.
Cash-strapped, Chambers owes a considerable fortune to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for being payed earnings whilst he was on drugs, and will be forced to pay back that money if - and when - he can.
Chambers attempted to make a career in the NFL, but was unsuccessful at making it out of NFL Europe (the feeder league for the NFL consisting of six teams: Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Amsterdam) before it folded its league.
Chambers has since attempted to return to track and field, and has hopes of qualifying for the IAAF World Indoor Championships - a goal which de Vos would like to deny Chambers. Chambers has vowed to make this a legal battle in an effort to put back on the Union Jack vest and compete for his country.
The Chambers controversy isn't the primary focus de Vos has in his immediate line of sight, however. de Vos would also like to have law enforcement more involved in the fight to keep his sport clean, and has suggested Great Britain follow the French model where possession of banned substances has begun leading to criminal charges.
Article comments
1 - UK Samson
de Vos has his head on ass backward. Now what are they going to do with Chambers now that he's not only qualified to Spain next month, but won the UK Athletics championships here at the week-end? Better they pay a few extra quid to try to catch real drug cheats instead of strining out this fairy-tale with Chambers. How much will it cost them to defend their position in court?