Moses predicts new drug ban shame

TWO-TIME Olympic winner Ed Moses expects a medallist at the World Championships will be banned for drugs use.

Athletics, like cycling, has been plagued by doping and the sport’s governing body, IAAF, are seeking to double the penalty for a serious first-time offence to four years.

But Moses doubts the IAAF’s willingness to tackle the problem, with their showpiece event due to start in Osaka this weekend.

Moses said: “It’s very depressing, unfortunate and unfair that, two weeks after the event, someone who won a medal will be banned.”

He added: “The problem is the people in leadership in the IAAF who have self-interest and when it comes to the time to take a hard line, it never happens.”

Moses was responding to comments from former drugs supplier Victor Conte that “the use of performance enhancing substances is rampant”.

Conte served a four-month jail sentence for his role in giving athletes performance-enhancing drugs. He was central to the BALCO drug scandal, implicating several top athletes.

Conte said: “I don’t believe the playing field they will compete on in Osaka will be any different than any previous world championship,” he said. “It’s better now than it was a few years ago but I still believe there are enormous loopholes you can drive a freight train through. I believe the testing is still very easy to beat.”