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| The Austrian ski coachWalter Mayer
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An Austrian ski coach who bolted the Winter
Games following a surprise anti-doping raid wound up
in a psychiatric hospital --
the latest stop on his bizarre flight from Turin, where authorities were
still analyzing 100 syringes and other material seized
from athletes' housing.
Authorities took
Walter Mayer into custody Sunday after he crashed his car into a police
blockade 15 miles inside Austria's border with Italy. Police later took
him to a psychiatric facility, Austria's ski federation president Peter
Schroecksnadel told The Associated Press.
"Apparently he's still in there," Schroecksnadel said Monday night. "I
believe that there was a danger of suicide -- they had to take him to the
hospital."
Mayer was banished from the Olympics over allegations of blood doping at the 2002
Olympics in Salt Lake City. He resurfaced with the team in Turin,
triggering police raids late Saturday -- the first-ever doping sweep by
police on athletes competing at the games.
Against the backdrop of the most stringent drug controls in Winter
Games history, local authorities seized the syringes and 30 packages of
antidepressants and asthma
medication , Italian prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello told
Austrian television. One Austrian athlete threw a bag out of a window
containing needles and medicines as police swarmed the house, the Italian
news agency ANSA reported.
Schroecksnadel defended the presence of asthma medication, saying as
many as five athletes were approved to use it legitimately. He also
suggested the materials could be used for innocent purposes, such as
injecting vitamins.
"The question is not the number of syringes but what was in them," he
said.
Mayer left the Austrian biathlon and cross
country team base in the Italian Alps sometime before or
during the overnight raids. He made it back to his native Austria, driving
at least 250 miles before he stopped on the side of the road, reportedly
to take a nap.
When police officers arrived, Mayer sped away, striking and slightly
injuring an officer, police said. Authorities parked an empty police
vehicle across the highway as a roadblock, and Mayer slammed into the
squad car, totaling both vehicles. He sustained minor injuries.
Police said Mayer refused to take ablood-alcoholtest , which an officer
requested after Mayer allegedly showed signs of being intoxicated.
Mayer could be charged with evading arrest and causing bodily harm to a
police officer, Kranz said. Italian authorities would not seek Mayer's
arrest, though they were investigating possible violation of the country's
anti-doping laws, said Marcello Maddalena, Turin's chief prosecutor.
During the raids, six skiers and four biathletes were taken for tests
by the International Olympic Committee, hours before some were due to
compete. The tests were still being analyzed.
Turin's chief prosecutor, Marcello Maddalena, confirmed Monday that
Mayer was under investigation for possible violation of Italy's
anti-doping laws, which treats doping as a criminal offense. But Maddalena
said authorities would not seek Mayer's arrest.
Schroecksnadel confirmed that two biathletes -- Wolfgang Perner and
Wolfgang Rottmann -- were suspended from the team for leaving Turin before
the conclusion of the games. Both had finished their events, although
Rottmann was available for a relay team.
World Anti-Doping Agency officers recently learned of Mayer's presence
at the Olympics and notified the IOC, which in turn tipped off Italian
police. The raids signaled a new level of cooperation between Olympic
officials and law enforcement authorities in tracking down suspected drug
cheats.
(Agencies) |