Weightlifting took a "significant step" on Friday toward becoming the first sport to hand over control of its governing federation's anti-doping program to WADA, "after enduring six months of relentless bad publicity," according to Brian Oliver of REUTERS. The congress of the European Weightlifting Federation voted unanimously in favor of a proposal to "transfer the sport's worldwide doping control system" to WADA. German Weightlifting Federation President Christian Baumgartner said, "Four or five years ago I was laughed at when I suggested this should happen. There was not enough funding at WADA and there was no political will." Recent revelations of systemic cheating in a range of sports prompted the IOC to announce last December that "it was in favour of making anti-doping independent of all Olympic sports." If doping control was handed over to WADA then the Court of Arbitration for Sport, sport's highest court, "would be given the task of imposing sanctions on those who fail tests." Baumgartner: "Weightlifting is leading the way in this respect. I did not imagine, a few years ago, that I would be saying that. I am sure our international federation will adopt the proposal in June" (REUTERS, 4/8).
