Canada’s Record Medal Count a Victory for Ethical Sport

(Ottawa, Ontario – March 10, 2006) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) congratulates Canadian athletes and their support personnel for Canada’s unprecedented performance in an Olympic Games. A record 24 medals in ten sports was supported by the largest number of fourth and fifth place finishes of any team in Turin. 

The CCES believes that these medals were won fairly and without the help of performance-enhancing substances. Canadian athletes embody fair play and good sportsmanship and demonstrate that being the world’s best and competing cleanly go hand-in-hand. 

In the lead-up to the Games here in Canada, the CCES reached out to athletes and their support personnel through education presentations and an innovative e-learning program. In collaboration with the Canadian Olympic Committee, the CCES provided team members with clear information on substances and doping control procedures, with very positive feedback. In addition, the CCES conducted doping controls on 94% of the Olympic team that competed in Turin and on 90% of the team competing in the Paralympic Games that begin today. The same pre-games program is currently in effect for Canadian athletes bound for the Commonwealth Games later this month in Melbourne. 

Overall, Turin’s results suggest that efforts to ensure elite international sport is cleaner than ever are gaining ground.  There was much more pre-games and out-of-competition testing and education globally, and fewer doping violations resulting. 

The CCES expects that Canadian athletes will build on our Olympic results in the upcoming Games, and continue steady progress toward an exemplary outcome when we host the world in Vancouver in 2010. “We want to help make Canada's Games the cleanest ever,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the CCES. “We’re working diligently toward this goal by collaborating with the Vancouver Organizing Committee, by supporting the True Sport Movement at a community level, and by continually improving our programs for elite athletes.” 

In addition, the CCES aims to increase efforts to protect the right of Canadian athletes to a level international playing field. During the past year the CCES helped several countries build their anti-doping program (including Russia, India, at the Francophonie Games in Niger and in the Caribbean). We continue to encourage international sport organizations and professional sport leagues to commit to world-class, credible anti-doping programs. We uphold Canada’s commitment to the World Anti-Doping Program, with Canadian anti-doping pioneer Dr. Andrew Pipe leading the WADA Independent Observer Team in Turin. The CCES believes that globally effective anti-doping initiatives serve all athletes. 

The CCES is an independent, national, non-profit organization. Our mission, to promote ethical conduct in all aspects of sport in Canada, is carried out through research, promotion, education, detection and deterrence, as well as through programs and partnerships with other organizations. 

 

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