Australian John Fahey is poised to become the next World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Chairman on November 17, replacing Dick Pound. His placement was made all the more secure when WADA Vice Chairman Jean-François Lamour resigned from his role on October 16. The Premier of New South Wales expects a challenge but sees progress already being made.
"That's something I totally disagree with," Fahey told The Sun-Herald of Australia regarding some suggestions that drugs should be legalised in sport.
The paper had printed pro-drug remarks from some sports figures following the Marion Jones fiasco, and Fahey does not want to see this type of sport that would be contested by pharmacists. "Sport is about a contest in a true and fair way, that's what underpins sport. It will wither unless there is a belief from those in sport that a particular contest is a fair contest.
"If sport comes down to a common denominator of who has got the best pharmacist, no one will turn up, sport will die," Fahey continued. "The Marion Jones expose is testament to the success WADA is having. Clearly it serves as a deterrent to others who may be considering cheating."
Pound represented the organisation in an anti-doping summit earlier this week in Paris with French minister for sport Roselyne Bachelot, ASO (Tour de France organizer) and the International Cycling Union (UCI). Fahey was pleased with the progress that will not only affect cycling, but all sports.
"It's an enormous challenge and I'm looking forward to giving it everything that I can to further that objective we all have – that's to have confidence that sport is being played and executed fairly," Fahey concluded.
