Austrian Olympic Committee fined $1 million in doping scandal

GENEVA — The Austrian Olympic Committee was fined $1 million by the IOC on Thursday in connection with the doping scandal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

The Lausanne-based International Olympic Committee said its executive board unanimously decided on the penalty, which will be imposed by withholding from the Austrian committee its share of IOC revenues up to that amount.

The AOC could have been suspended, effectively excluding Austrian athletes from competing at the upcoming Olympics.

After issuing lifetime Olympic bans to six Austrian cross-country skies and biathletes last month, the IOC found the Austrian committee accountable for the conduct of its ski federation and the violation of anti-doping rules by its athletes and support staff at the Turin Olympics.

The AOC also was held responsible for the participation of former Austrian coach Walter Mayer, who was banned from the Turin Olympics after being implicated in blood-doping at the Salt Lake City Games. The IOC said the Austrian committee failed to implement the necessary changes to prevent a repeat of the problems from 2002.

The IOC gave the Austrian committee a year to complete its investigation into the role played by the national Olympic body, team coaches, doctors and officials.

The Austrian committee must report on its investigation by June 30, 2008, and demonstrate "the internal organizational changes that have been implemented," the IOC said, without elaborating on what changes it expected to be carried out.

The $1 million fine will be invested in anti-doping programs, the IOC said.

The IOC said it will refer the case file to the International Ski Federation and the International Biathlon Union so that they can decide whether to take separate action against the Austrian Ski Federation.

The action comes just six weeks before the IOC selects the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics. An Austrian city, Salzburg, is competing against Sochi, Russia, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Salzburg Mayor Heinz Schaden acknowledged the doping scandal was not helpful for his city's bid.

"The IOC is losing its patience," Schaden said. "The bid is not dead."

Austrian Olympic Committee president Leo Wallner accused the Austrian Ski Federation of a "serious failure." Wallner said the scandal could have knocked Austrian athletes out of at least the 2008 Summer Games and the 2010 Winter Olympics.