August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

BEIJING, Aug 14: Madrid’s bid to win the 2016 Olympics has been strengthened by Spain’s determination to crack down on doping after several high-profile cases tarnished the country’s athletes, bid chief Mercedes Coghen said on Thursday.

Spanish cyclist Maribel Moreno became the first athlete to test positive during the Beijing Olympics earlier this week despite stringent controls by Spain’s Olympic Committee.

The test angered sports officials who had checked the athlete six times in the past six months alone and called the offence “a stain on Spanish sport”.

Sports Minister Jaime Lissavetzky pledged he would root out cheats and even send providers of drugs to jail after Spain’s efforts to send clean athletes to the Games were foiled by an “isolated incident”.

Spain has launched a major anti-drugs investigation after uncovering a drugs ring providing mainly cyclists with banned substances two years ago. It also introduced a new doping law to strengthen the government’s legal arsenal.

“It used to be two controls conducted by the National Olympic Committee and now it has become three before the Games,” Coghen said.

“We needed to have a [anti-doping] law that is in the same line as the International Olympic Committee. They [sports authorities] have been working very, very hard on this and this is very good for Madrid 2016,” Coghen said in an interview.

Madrid has made an IOC shortlist for the 2016 Games, along with Rio, Tokyo and Chicago. A decision will be made next year.

Madrid scored high points in the IOC’s evaluation report, ranking second behind Tokyo in the overall technical evaluation in June.

The Spanish capital also ran for the 2012 Games but missed out to eventual winners London.

Coghen said Madrid’s bid had since become an even more compact plan with several changes, including a more operational athletes’ village.

Recent international sporting success in basketball, soccer and tennis had also improved the country’s standing and increased visibility of Madrid’s bid, Coghen said.

“As a former athlete myself I have learnt from [former IOC] president Samaranch who said ‘you cannot have Olympic Games if you don’t have the athletes’,” Coghen said.—Reuters