Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) President Alejandro Blanco's "comments in defense of Spanish runner Marta Dominguez, in which he questioned the viability of the biological passport as an anti-doping measure, are continuing to create surprise and discomfort for sports authorities," according to Juan Gutiérrez of AS. Blanco said, "Marta Dominguez remains an excellent Spanish athlete. If she has passed 50,000 anti-doping tests without problems, and by my information, there is only one anomaly in her biological passport, what one has to question if this method is 100 percent viable." Above all, the comments "concern the World Anti-Doping Association and the IAAF, which did not respond to Blanco's comments publicly." Spain Anti-Doping Agency Head Ana Muñoz said, "We respect the proceedings in any administrative or judicial instance related to sports. ... The biological passport is valid and becomes the hub to determine intelligent testing. Spain is on the same path as the most advanced countries in this fight, and this includes the latest legislative reforms driven by the CSD" (AS, 3/19).
