IOC supports WADA after US threatens to cut off funding

LAUSANNE - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed its support to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after the US threatened to cut off its funding for the agency.

The report from the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) concluded that the US was not represented enough in WADA proportionate to its contribution - $2.7 million per year to the core budget of WADA - and that WADA had not made enough efforts in reform.

In a letter to James W. Carroll, director of the office of ONDCP, WADA president Witold Banka said it was "with great disappointment" that he read the 19-page ONDCP report.

Banka's letter was attached with an annotated version of the ONDCP Report, outlining "the misleading information and inaccuracies and the report contains; and, what the report omits in terms of factual information."

The IOC, which provides 50% of WADA's funds, told Xinhua on Monday: "We refer you to the comments WADA has made already. For the IOC, we will ensure that the same conditions apply at the Olympic Games to all participating athletes from all NOCs and that they are subject to the same rules without any privilege or discrimination."