Jamaica and Kenya risk being banned from future Olympic Games if their drugs testing programmes fail to come up to scratch, International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has warned.
Meanwhile Kenya’s government and Olympic federation are yet to confirm that a task force to investigate allegations of a doping culture in their set-up, promised 12 months ago, has been established.
Wada travelled to Jamaica in October to audit the country’s testing procedures and said it was “very frustrated” by the apparent lack of progress in Kenya.
Bach said the International Olympic Committee would not shy away from acting if Wada found either nation were “non-compliant”.
He added: “We can only sanction if we have a non-compliance declaration by Wada.”
The Olympic Charter states that all National Olympic Committees must “adopt and implement” the World Anti-Doping Code with competitors, coaches, trainers and all officials obliged to “respect and comply in all aspects”.
A ban would prevent innocent athletes such as Kenyan 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha and Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt competing.
Along with Powell, twice 200m Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown and London 2012 4x100m relay silver medallist Sherone Simpson were left out of Jamaica’s team for the World Championships in August after failed drugs tests.
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