Athletics: Dope-taking runner out for London

Liza Hunter-Galvan. Photo / Getty Images

Any ambition banned New Zealand marathon runner Liza Hunter-Galvan had of competing at the London Olympics in 2012 has been rubbed out.

Texas-based Hunter-Galvan was last week suspended from running for two years after testing positive for the prohibited substance erythropoietin, or EPO, in March.

Yesterday, with the Delhi Commonwealth Games next year off the table courtesy of her ban, the New Zealand Olympic Committee also ruled her out of consideration for London in three years.

The NZOC's anti-doping policy states any athlete found to have committed an offence is ineligible for selection in a New Zealand team for the next Games after the ban expires.

At the moment, the NZOC rules hand out a four-year ban for a first offence to any athlete who fails a doping test, with a life ban for a second offence.

The wording is about to change, but even if Hunter-Galvan had failed her test later this year it would not have produced a more favourable outcome for her.

The International Olympic Committee says any athlete receiving a ban of six months or more will miss the following Olympics. World anti-doping agency Wada has a two-year ban in place.

The NZOC will fine-tune its policy within the next month, with the wording expected to put a two-year suspension, plus missing the following Games, in place.

"What we are doing is harmonising those things and simplifying it to be consistent with the IOC and stay completely compliant with Wada," NZOC president Mike Stanley said last night.

And he reinforced the NZOC's stance on Hunter-Galvan, rejecting any notion that enlarging her ban to include the next Olympics could be viewed as putting the boot into an athlete already being penalised.

"Our first responsibility is to all athletes who attend Games," he said. "We want to make sure as much as we can that they are competing against people who are not using prohibited substances. It sends a strong signal to people that if they go down this path there are going to be significant penalties."

Hunter-Galvan will be 44 when the London Olympics are on. Her chances of selection would have been at best slim. Yesterday slim became none.