2010 Games anti-doping efforts hindered

Olympic officials working to ensure raids of athletes' rooms can be executed

Last Updated: Monday, December 21, 2009 | 5:10 PM ET

By Lindsey Craig, CBC Sports

The athletes' village for the Vancouver 2010 Games as construction continued in Vancouver, B.C., on October 9, 2009. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Olympic officials aren't sure whether authorities in Vancouver will be able to legally search athletes' rooms and residences for drugs during the Winter Games because Canada doesn't have anti-doping laws.

Members of the International Olympic Committee are working with Canadian law enforcement authorities to come to an agreement. Arne Ljungqvist, the IOC chairman, said the two sides are co-operating but have not yet resolved the issue.

"Discussions are going on," Ljungqvist told The Associated Press. "They will probably go on until more or less Games time."

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics kick off Feb. 12. The problem-plagued athletes village is slated to open Feb. 4.

Olympic officials said searching athletes' accommodations in Turin, Italy, during the 2006 Games wasn't an issue because Italian police were legally permitted to conduct raids in connection with possible doping.

The IOC is responsible for drug-testing during each Olympics, but relies on police in host countries to share information and help eliminate any smuggling, trafficking and distribution rings associated with the Games.

"This has become more and more important," Ljungqvist said. "We are acting more and more on the basis of intelligence."

Responding to an IOC tip in 2006, Italian police raided the living quarters of the Austrian biathlon and cross-country teams, seizing doping products and equipment.

The IOC and Canadian officials are determining whether the same would be legally permitted in Vancouver.

"We haven't reached that stage," Ljungqvist said. "It remains to be seen if we reach that stage at all. That [Turin] was a unique situation. Further discussions remain to take place."

For future Games, the IOC will put in place a rule forcing host cities to have an acceptable anti-doping law in place, Ljungqvist said.

In the meantime, for the Vancouver Olympics, the IOC is also working with Canadian customs authorities to prevent banned drugs and equipment destined for the Games from coming into the country.

Roughly 2,000 blood and urine tests will be conducted on athletes in Vancouver, an increase of about 500 tests from the last Winter Olympics.

Under international sports rules, Olympic athletes can also be tested anywhere in the world, on any day, at any time. They must specify one hour each day where they can definitely be found for testing. It will be considered a missed test if they can't be located at that hour, Ljungqvist said.