Doping agency proposes doubling penalties

Athletes who get caught doping could be in for tougher penalities if the World Anti-Doping Agency’s new proposal is enacted.

Wada has proposed doubling the penalties from two years to four years, according to an article in the Guardian. The penalty would apply to abuse of substances including anabolic steroids and human growth hormone.

The move comes after U.S. athlete LaShawn Merritt was successful in overturning an International Olympic Committee ruling that would have seen him banned from the London 2012 Olympics.

The new proposal would double the maximum penalty for a number of offences, including trafficking and using masking agents. The idea behind the four-year bans is that those caught doping would be banned from the next Olympics.

“It is clear from the number of submissions we received, that there is a strong desire in the world of sport, from governments and within the anti-doping community, to strengthen the sanction articles in the Code,” Wada president, John Fahey told the Guardian. “This second draft has done that, doubling the length of suspension for serious offenders and widening the scope for anti-doping organizations to impose lifetime bans.”

If passed, the new rules would come into effect in 2015.