Olympic Anti-Doping Statement Is Planned

U.S. anti-doping officials were expected to make a major announcement today regarding their efforts to send a clean squad to the Olympic Games in Athens this summer, sources said.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has been under international pressure to take action since last fall, when news of the BALCO steroid investigation brought a number of top track and field athletes under scrutiny.

Olympic officials have worried that U.S. athletes could win medals in Athens only to have evidence of previous drug use turn up as part of the federal case.

The exact nature of today’s announcement was not known. USADA officials declined to comment Tuesday.

The steroid scandal came to light when federal agents raided the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, near San Francisco in September. Among evidence gathered were canceled checks, e-mails and shipping labels.

Dozens of athletes subsequently testified about their connections to BALCO before the grand jury that handed down the indictments.

Much of the federal government’s evidence remained sealed until recently when it was subpoenaed by a Senate subcommittee, which then handed the documents over to USADA.

Stepping up their efforts, USADA officials have since approached athletes connected to the case offering leniency in return for information. As recently as Tuesday, a source said, an agency official was in San Francisco to speak with athletes and their attorneys.

Though USADA normally takes action only after an athlete has tested positive for drugs, it can also initiate hearings by way of a provision known as a “nonanalytical positive.”

In this instance, it could use evidence collected by federal agents in an attempt to prosecute and suspend athletes.

The prospect of such unprecedented measures has been controversial, but International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge lent his support to the effort this week.

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Abrahamson reported from Lausanne, Switzerland, Wharton from Los Angeles.