FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Riley / Brian Blake 202–395–6618
February 6, 2002
ONDCP APPLAUDS WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY'S WORK IN KEEPING OLYMPICS FAIR AND DRUG FREE
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics to be
"The Most Competitive and Fair" in History
WASHINGTON, DC — John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today reiterated his support for the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) important role at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. WADA, an independent agency formed with the support and endorsement of ONDCP in 1999, is the lead organization designated to eliminate the taint of doping and drugs from sports.
"We support the World Anti-Doping Agency's efforts to make the Salt Lake City Winter Games the most competitive and fair Olympics in history," Director Walters stated. "Fair play demands that athletes compete free from the influence of performance-enhancing drugs. Not only do these drugs threaten to knock honest, drug-free competitors out of medal contention, but they also endanger the lives of the athletes who use them. As role models for young athletes, our Olympians should exemplify the Olympic ideals of 'faster, higher, stronger' through dedication and tireless effort, not by cutting corners with performance-enhancing drugs."
ONDCP Specific Drugs Branch Chief Kate Malliarakis, the Agency's representative to WADA, will travel to Salt Lake City on February 7-8. While there, she will attend a WADA Foundation Board meeting and conduct bilateral meetings with representatives from Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union. She will be available to answer media inquiries at the roll-out of the "Athlete's Passport" program at a 10AM, February 7, press conference in Main Media Center Room A. The new program is designed to publicly document the drug test records of athletes at the Games. She will also be available for comment following a WADA press conference on February 8 at 1PM in the Little America Hotel Ballroom C. To schedule an interview with Ms. Malliarakis please contact ONDCP public affairs at (202) 395-6618.
