Olympic leaders agree on new drug tests

Olympic leaders have agreed that testing should be independent of sports organisations and have urged the World Anti-Doping Agency to take over the responsibility on a global level.

The Olympic Summit in Lausanne has "decided to make anti-doping testing independent from sports organisations," the IOC said in a statement.

"The summit requested WADA to study taking responsibility for testing as the global centre of competence in anti-doping."

The study will be carried out by a WADA working group that includes Olympic leaders and government representatives. No time frame was given.

The move is aimed at giving more credibility to drug-testing by taking it out of the hands of sports bodies and event organisers and turning it over to an independent body.

Federations have been viewed as partial in drug-testing and less willing to uncover cheating in their own sport. Critics say the current system has an inherent conflict of interest.

Putting the testing in independent hands would introduce more legitimacy to the system, Olympic leaders believe.

WADA, which was set up in 1999 to oversee anti-doping efforts around the world, does not carry out its own testing. It accredits labs around the world, which analyse samples.

It wasn't immediately clear whether WADA - headed by IOC vice president Craig Reedie of Britain - would be willing to expand its role by taking over independent testing across the board.

Such a move would require a major change in funding. Money that federations and other bodies spend on testing would have to be transferred to WADA or any other independent body set up for the testing.

Under the proposal, while the testing itself would be handled independently, the disciplinary procedures and sanctioning would be done by the federations.

It also wasn't clear how the new system would affect the testing program at the Olympic Games. Traditionally, the testing is run by the IOC and the local organising committee.