(ATR) A new Turkish doping scandal involving dozens of athletes threatens to damage the Istanbul 2020 campaign.
A report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph on Tuesday said up to 30 Turkish athletes had failed tests on their "A" urine samples as part of an anti-doping operation in the build-up to the Mersin Mediterranean Games held last month. The "B" samples are expected to confirm the presence of performance-enhancing drugs.
But the suggestion that Turkey could be kicked out of next month’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow appears to be wide of the mark.
With just over eight weeks until the crucial vote on the 2020 Olympics host city in Buenos Aires, the scandal has sparked fresh concerns about Turkey’s commitment to anti-doping. It follows a spate of doping positives revealed last week and in May that have tarnished the image of Turkish athletics.
The country’s Olympic committee, led by IOC member and Istanbul 2020 leader Ugur Erdener, tells Around the Rings that it is treating the new doping revelations as "a very serious matter".
"The NOC of Turkey (NOCT) is urgently reviewing all alleged and any confirmed doping cases involving Turkish athletes with the Turkish government and all relevant sports and anti-doping authorities," the NOC said in a statement sent to ATR.
"The NOC of Turkey and the Turkish government have a zero-tolerance policy on doping in sport and therefore we have been cooperating, and will continue to cooperate, fully with all relevant investigations to resolve these cases as quickly and decisively as possible," it continued.
"The recent doping discoveries have been fully assisted by the Turkish National Anti-Doping Agency who have been working closely with the IAAF and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Turkish Anti-Doping Agency (TADA) is wholly compliant with WADA and is dramatically stepping up its fight against drug cheats."
The statement added: "Any athletes found guilty of using banned substances will be punished to the full extent of Turkey’s comprehensive anti-doping legislation, other laws, and in accordance with international anti-doping practices."
The Turkish NOC emphasized that Turkey was playing its part in the fight against doping, describing it as "one of the most pressing issues facing world sport right now".
Under anti-doping efforts, the Doping Control Laboratory in Ankara will be re-accredited later this year, "which will add significant fire-power in our anti-doping campaign," according to the NOC.
"In parallel, the NOCT and TADA are working hard with education authorities, athletes and their representatives to educate and inform young people from the earliest possible age about the dangers and illegality of doping," the statement added.
The latest doping scandal to hit Turkish athletics follows last week’s revelations; eight of the country’s athletes were reported to be facing doping charges.
But the most high-profile suspension was in May when Asli Cakir Alptekein, a gold medalist in the women's 1,500 meters at London 2012, was suspended over suspicions of doping. A disciplinary tribunal is investigating the case.
Also in May, two-time European 100m hurdles champion Nevin Yanit tested positive for a prohibited substance.
The IAAF declined to confirm how many Turkish athletes were engulfed in the new scandal, or if Turkey’s participation at the IAAF worlds was under threat.
"The IAAF is aware of media speculation surrounding the recent anti-doping control tests, in and out of competition, of a number of Turkish athletes," spokesman Nick Davies said in a statement to ATR.
"Following concerns highlighted by abnormal biological passport values the IAAF with the national anti-doping agency intensified the testing program in Turkey, the results of which remain on-going in accordance with IAAF rules. The IAAF will not make any further comment until the completion of those proceedings."
Reported by Mark Bisson
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