Conte says did not name athletes in WADA meeting
Updated: 2007-12-13 11:06
SAN FRANCISCO - The owner of the now defunct BALCO laboratory met with the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday but said he did not name athletes linked with steroids.
 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chairman Dick Pound speaks at a WADA symposium at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, in this January 29, 2004 file photo. The World Anti-Doping Agency begins a new chapter this week when it elects Australian John Fahey to replace outgoing President Pound at the world conference on doping in Madrid. [Agencies] |
Victor Conte is the self-taught mastermind behind the San Francisco area BALCO lab at the center of a global sports steroid scandal that has tarnished top athletes including baseball home run king Barry Bonds and sprinter Marion Jones.
"It was inaccurately reported before the meeting that I would be naming names, but that was never my intention nor is that what occurred today," Conte told Reuters in an e-mail after the meeting.
"Without naming the athletes, I did provide specific information regarding how athletes involved with doping around the world are so easily able to circumvent the anti-doping procedures in place."
Since serving prison time on steroid distribution charges, Conte has said he would like to help stem the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Meeting in New York, Conte and WADA president Dick Pound did not discuss pending cases but focused on the fight against drugs in sport, the anti-doping agency said in a statement.
"Those of us responsible for leading in the fight against doping look forward to the benefits of such knowledge and cooperation," said Pound, "very much in the same manner that we welcome information from athletes who have doped in the past and are now willing to help us have a greater understanding of the nature and extent of the doping problem and how to attack it."
Conte, a former funk rock musician turned nutritionist, added: "Pound asked what changes I would make if I were the king of the world of anti-doping for a day.
"As someone who was able to evade their system for so long, it was easy for me to point out the many loopholes that exist and recommend specific steps to improve the overall effectiveness of their program."
"Because Mr. Pound was so receptive to the insight I provided, I do believe there will be effective changes made that will benefit the world of sport."
On the same day as the Conte-Pound meeting, the International Olympic Committee took back the five Sydney 2000 Games medals American Marion Jones had won in reaction to her admission of taking banned drugs.
Another one of Conte's former clients, all-time Major League Baseball home run champion Bonds, pleaded not-guilty in federal court last Friday to lying about steroids, with the case due back in court next month.
Doping in baseball will again be in focus on Thursday when former U.S. Senate majority leader George Mitchell releases a long-anticipated report on steroids in Major League Baseball.
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