Thorpe: Athletics must take blame for BALCO

Multiple swimming world record holder Ian Thorpe believes athletics would not be embroiled in the ongoing Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) drugs scandal if officials had dealt with the drugs issue earlier.

Olympic multi-medallist Marion Jones has been drawn into the doping controversy after Victor Conte, owner of BALCO, alleged he had supplied her with performance-enhancing drugs in the run-up to the Sydney Games in 2000.

Jones has denied the accusations and launched a lawsuit seeking more than £12m (€17.5m) for defamation.

However, the federal investigation into the company has implicated many of America’s top sportspeople and shows no signs of abating with Conte, along with three other men, likely to stand trial in March for illegal steroid trafficking and money laundering.

Thorpe believes the whole sordid episode was inevitable as the drugs issue had been treated seriously.

He told the Sun-Herald: “It makes me sad to think the whole drugs issue was not properly addressed earlier. Drugs in sport is something we should accept as a problem and do all we can to solve before things like this happen.

“If you want to maintain credibility, you have to address it. There’s no point waiting until there is no credibility.”

Thorpe, who has won five Olympic titles, has always been outspoken on the drugs issue.

Just prior to the Athens Games he was reprimanded by the sport’s governing body who accused Thorpe of bringing swimming into disrepute for saying in a TV interview that it would be naïve for swimmers to believe they would be competing at a clean Olympics.

He also alleged he had raced against athletes who had been on drugs.

Thorpe has remained unapologetic and does not shy away from telling what he sees as the truth.

He continued: “If swimming was in a mess like that I would be relieved if something came out. However, drug testing in swimming is much tougher now and the various bodies are genuinely attempting to drive any drugs from the sport.

“People who deny there is a problem think they are protecting the sport, but they are harming it and the sooner everyone accepts drugs as a problem the sooner we can fix it.

“I am talking about sport in general, as well as swimming, when I say that. I don’t think there are many people cheating (in swimming) but we should be able to get to the stage where no one takes drugs to enhance performance.”