Drugs in Sport: IOC aims to close loopholes

LEGAL loopholes in Olympic drug-test procedures are to be closed to prevent court proceedings of the kind which resulted in Butch Reynolds winning a multi- million-dollar damages claim.

The International Olympic Committee agreed in Lausanne yesterday to look into making procedures water-tight before the 1996 Games. Sports governing bodies have been alarmed by the US court award of dollars 27.3m ( pounds 18m) to Reynolds against the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

The IOC medical commission chief, Prince Alexandre de Merode, said it was essential to close loopholes at a time when courts seemed less interested in whether an athlete had taken drugs and more in whether there was a flaw in the test procedures.