Former WADA president Pound calls for 'tougher' action on doping

The first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound has called for "tougher" treatment of athletes and nations who are found to be doping but remains optimistic about the fight against cheating.

"Many sports now know that someone is looking over their shoulder," the 77-year-old Canadian told AFP ahead of the 20th anniversary WADA meeting in Katowice.

Pound, a former Olympic swimmer, has long beaten a vocal and often controversial path in the bid to uncover the drugs cheats.

He led WADA from its inception in 1999 to 2007 and remains an Olympic Movement representative on the WADA Foundation Board.

He is proud of what WADA has achieved but regrets missed opportunities to take the fight deeper.

"What I find the most disappointing is the reticence in going in really hard against the those who sign up to the World Anti-Doping Code but only go halfway in implementing it," he says.

"After 20 years, everyone knows the code, everyone knows the rules and they aren't always applied. We must be more persuasive."
"If you do that three or four times then people will get the message."
"You can suspend an individual who tests positive but that has no effect on the outcome of the competition. The match isn't lost which is what happens with a relay team in athletics."
- Ineffective testing -
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"These are good examples. It is a work in progress."
- UNESCO convention -
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"It is the most effective convention of UNESCO."