Jamaican athletics officials today angrily dismissed claims by Victor Conte, the man behind the BALCO doping scandal, of a far-reaching drugs cover-up in the country.
Conte accused the Jamaican Government, its Anti‑Doping Commission, and its Olympic Association of allowing its athletes to dope.
Five athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson, await disciplinary hearings after testing positive at Jamaica’s national championships in June. All five have denied knowingly taking banned substances.
“I’ve believed for a long time it is state-sponsored doping,” said Conte, who was jailed for four months in 2005. “I believe the Jamaican Olympic Committee is in on it, I believe the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission is in on it, I believe they’re being tipped off.”
However, JOA president Mike Fennell told Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner: “This is absolutely ridiculous, this is rubbish.”
