World

Stopping Olympic Drug Use

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 16, 2000 / 7:24 PM EDT / CBS

In an event that brings the world together, Olympic organizers did something even harder: They brought North and South Korea together. With separate teams representing each nation marching in lookalike outfits under one common flag showing both Koreas, this was the Olympic dream at its best.

But as CBS News Correspondent Barry Petersen reports, behind the scenes, it's the Olympic dream at its worst: athletes who use illegal performance-enhancing drugs that the International Olympic Committee admits won't entirely be stopped by random drug tests.

The IOC, critics say, has been slow to crack down on drugs, and without them, athletes might be unable to set new world records. The critics see a link between the world records and the billions of dollars raised from corporate sponsors and TV rights.

And when it comes to critics, nobody criticizes the IOC more than the Americans. They took the lead Saturday when U.S. government officials announced the allocation of $3.3 million for drug-testing programs at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey made the announcement Saturday, the first full day of competition at the Sydney Games. With the announcement, he made clear that the Americans — not the IOC — will test for drugs, analyze the results, and banish offenders.

"It's become a real threat to the to the integrity of the sport, not just in international elite competition," said Barry McCaffrey, the so-called U.S. "drug czar."

"We're seeing performance-enhancing drugs in Little League (baseball) and high school diving," he added. "We need to get a handle on this or we are going to wreck the entire sport. It is not just the cheating co-efficient but more importantly around the world youngsters are saying four years from now I will be in Olympic competition. If I want to compete and win I have got to use drugs."

He said the funding reflected the commitment of the United States to protect the integrity of sports and the safety of athletes.

McCaffrey confirmed that the World Anti-Doping Agency had recorded 20 suspected positives among 2,045 out-of-competition tests conducted around the world since April.

Olympic Gold Medal marathoner Frank Shorter will spearhead the anti-drug effort, which will include developing tests for drugs that at the moment can't be detected.

"It really sends the message to dirty athletes that you're actually trying to catch them," Shorter said. "The other thing is does, more importantly; it re-establishes the confidence and trust of the clean athletes who will then help with the ongoing process."