The OSS was delighted to welcome back Richard ‘Dick’ Pound, one of the world’s foremost authorities on corruption and anti-doping in sport, to follow up his previous appearance with a look at the challenges around doping and his career with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Mr Pound, a Canadian QC and Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer, became a leading figure in tackling corruption across the Olympic movement as bribes and enticements became part of bidding scandals. He is the longest serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and twice Vice-President, and co-founded WADA, which led him into direct conflict with leading sports across the past 20 years, most notably cycling, the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong, and the Russian testing laboratory scandal.
The event was hosted by OSS Founder, Charlie Raeburn, with Mr Pound being interviewed by Jens Sejer Andersen, the Danish investigative journalist and director of ‘Play the Game’, part of OSS partner organisation, the Danish Institute of Sport Studies (IDAN). He describes ‘Play the Game’ as an initiative aimed at “raising the ethical standards and promoting democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in world sport”.
In an engrossing discussion that traversed global issues in sport, Mr Pound spoke openly about his time in the IOC, the challenges he and the IOC faced in tackling the growth of drug abuse and other scandals that have blighted the Olympics and global sport.
When asked if he thought there was less doping now, Mr Pound said: “I’m not sure that there is any less. One of the things we did with WADA is draw attention to the fact that there is much more doping than was ever considered happening.
“‘Unintentional doping’ is highly overrated. There may well be a few completely unintentional cases, but the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of doping, is planned and deliberate, and done for the purpose of gaining and unfair advantage.”
A strong supporter of the OSS, Mr Pound enjoyed sharing his knowledge and experiences once again for OSS supporters, and is looking forward to continuing his involvement in further OSS events.
The event is below for OSS supporters to listen and catch up on the fascinating discussion.
Thought Piece from Charlie Raeburn for Reform Scotland