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Lagat to continue with damages claim against IAAF, WADA

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 15:45 CST

By Ken Ferris

LONDON (Reuters) - Olympic 1,500 meters silver medallist Bernard Lagat has decided to pursue his claim for damages against the IAAF and WADA over a failed drugs test.

The Kenyan-born American says he was falsely accused by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of taking erythropoietin (EPO).

Lagat issued a statement on Wednesday saying:

"It is a German court's practice to ask both sides to try and resolve their differences before taking proceedings any further but, at the initial hearing on November 2, I found the IAAF and WADA positions to be irreconcilable with my own.

"My lawyers have informed the court of this, ahead of a full hearing which has been scheduled to begin in February 2006."

The 30-year-old, who became a U.S. citizen in March, tested positive for the blood-booster EPO at an August, 2003 meeting, but was later cleared after the second sample was negative.

A Cologne court on November 2 rejected his claim for damages against the world governing body for loss of earnings and did not accept there was any doubt about the validity of the test.

Lagat, who missed the 2003 Paris world championships and some subsequent meetings after testing positive, was given until December 1 to decide whether to accept the court's verdict.

THREE ISSUES

However, the athlete outlined on Wednesday three key issues he aims to address by continuing his legal action.

"Firstly, I was hoping the IAAF and WADA would provide an apology for what occurred to me in 2003 under their jurisdiction. However, none has been forthcoming," he said.

"Secondly, there was no recognition or acknowledgement from either the IAAF or WADA that the testing procedures for EPO that I was subjected to in 2003 were far from fail-safe and that an innocent athlete, who in this case was myself, could be wrongly accused of having taken performance-enhancing drugs.

"There is a significant body of scientific work which indicates that the shortcomings of the tests used in 2003 were known at the time of my erroneous result and I will be looking to introduce this material during the course of my court action.

"Thirdly, there is the matter of financial compensation for my loss of earnings and reputation which occurred due to my suspension by the IAAF in August and September 2003.

"My period of suspension included the 2003 world championships and ... my competition record before and after this event suggests I would have had a very good chance of a medal in the 1500 meters, perhaps even the gold," added Lagat.

The Cologne court ruled that his claim be withdrawn in its entirety and that no compensation should be paid by the IAAF, which has always maintained the athlete was never banned but had instead agreed to withdraw from competition.

Source: REUTERS

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