IOC to hold 1st doping hearings in April

The IOC will hold hearings in mid-April into alleged doping by Austrian athletes during the 2006 Turin Games.

The International Olympic Committee's disciplinary committee, which met Friday to discuss possible rule violations during the games, declined to say which athletes, coaches or team officials would be called.

IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau confirmed that the meeting examined documents turned over by Italian investigators into alleged doping by the Austrian biathlon and cross-country skiing teams.

Turin prosecutors reportedly are investigating at least four members of the Austrian team on suspicion of using performance-enhancing drugs.

Italian police raided the lodgings of Austria's cross-country and biathlon teams during the Turin Games, seizing alleged doping substances and equipment. The raid was triggered by the presence of former Austrian coach Walter Mayer, who was implicated in a blood-doping case at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and banned by the IOC from the Turin Olympics and 2010 Vancouver Games.

On Thursday, Mayer dropped defamation lawsuits against the heads of the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency, who had suggested he might have been involved in doping Austrian athletes during the Turin games.

In addition to the police raids, Olympic drug-testers conducted surprise checks on 10 Austrians. The tests came back negative, but the IOC continued its investigation. The IOC can punish athletes, coaches and teams without positive drug tests, relying instead on police evidence or proof of possession of doping substances.

Following the hearings, the commission could make recommendations to the next IOC executive board meeting in Beijing at the end of April.