IOC reprimands Pound for Armstrong remarks

By Susan Westemeyer

The International Olympic Committee has reprimanded World Anti-Doping Agency head Richard Pound for comments he made suggesting that Lance Armstrong had used doping products, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Pound publicly suggested in 2005 that Armstrong had "very likely" used EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. The cyclist subsequently filed a complaint with the IOC's Ethics Commission.

The IOC upheld the Commission's finding that the remarks "could have been regarded as likely to impugn the probity" of Armstrong, and went against the Olympic goal of "a spirit of friendshp, solidarity and fair play".

The Ethics Commission had released its recommendation on February 2, saying that the IOC should "remind (Pound) of the obligatin to exercise greater prudence ... when making public pronouncements that may affect the reputations of others."