Austria protests raids

Coach Walter Mayer was banned from the Olympics for his involvement in a blood doping case four years ago but came to the Games as a private spectator and spoke to athletes, the Austrian team said.

His visit prompted surprise out-of-competition doping controls late on Saturday.

"We have protested against the way the controls were done. I personally spoke to the president (Jacques Rogge) of the IOC this morning. He acknowledged our complaint," Austrian Committee Secretary General Heinz Jungwirth told Reuters by telephone from Turin.

The IOC's medical commission chief Arne Ljungqvist told reporters the Austrians should not be complaining as there were enough reasons to stage the raids.

The raids and doping tests on six cross-country skiing and four biathlon athletes had been triggered by a World Anti-Doping report saying doping-related equipment was found in Ramsau, Austria and suggested possible doping attempts in Italy during the Games.

Holding up an official postcard of the Austrian biathlon team which included Mayer and at the back read "2006 Olympic Games", Ljungqvist said: "This is reason enough to act."

While Mayer was not violating the ban imposed on him which runs up to and including the 2010 Winter Games, Ljungqvist said by visiting the athletes he had violated the Olympic spirit.

"It is against the spirit of that decision. The fact has been respected that he has not an IOC accreditation."

"That he was in the same area created quite some concern for us," Ljungqvist said, adding his address was close or adjacent to the Austrian team's quarters.

He said the IOC had been informed of the WADA report a few days ago and immediately alerted authorities which acted independently. The IOC was in no way connected to the police operation, he said.

Austria's Jungwirth said he had personally not seen Mayer at the Olympics. But an Austrian spokesman and a sport director both said Mayer had watched competitions and paid a visit to Austrian cross-country racer and biathletes.

"Mayer was here privately as a spectator and he visited the boys. Of course, they will have talked a bit about preparations for the race and maybe he gave them some advice.

"As a coach he won't have talked just about the weather," said Erich Wagner, spokesman for the Austrian Ski Federation.

Police and International Olympic Committee doping officials swooped on two Austrian biathlon and cross country bases on Saturday night and subjected the 10 members urine tests.

But Mayer was not found during the search. "At the moment he is not in Italy," Mario Pescante, the Italian government's top Olympics official said. "We were looking to find the same equipment (as in Austria)."

As coach, Mayer took Austria's cross-country team to their first ever Olympic medals in Nordic skiing at the 1998 Games. He added gold in the relay at the 1999 world championships and two more medals in the Salt Lake Games.

He was banned for life by the International Ski Federation after the discovery of blood transfusion equipment in a chalet at Salt Lake but said the equipment was a therapeutic remedy and not performance enhancing.

Mayer remains barred from all Olympics up to and including the 2010 Games in Vancouver but his FIS ban was cut to 10 years in 2005.

"I haven't had much contact with Mayer. I don't know what he has done wrong now or why he shouldn't come here to visit," said Markus Gandler, Austria's biathlon and cross-country director.