IAAF symposium calls for four-year doping bans

Athletes and officials from athletics' world governing body have called for a return to four-year bans for sportsmen and women who participate in "proven aggravated doping cases".

The calls came at the end of a three-day international symposium organised by the IAAF on the subject of anti-doping.

"We were forced to reduce four-year bans to two-year bans in 1997 because of rulings in civil courts along with pressure from other sporting federations who felt that four-year bans were too much, but I think times have changed," IAAF vice-president Arne Ljungvist said.

The IAAF has called for the introduction of four-year bans across the sporting world several times in the past, but Ljungvist said the time was now ripe to reconsider the issue.

The issue could now be presented to the IAAF's Congress at its next meeting in August 2007.