TAS 2002/O/373 COC & Scott v/IOC
CAS 2002/O/373 Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) & Beckie Scott / International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- Olympic Winter Games Cross-country skiing
- Standing to challenge a decision even if the claimant was not a party in the first instance
- Exclusion of the Olympic Games
- Interpretation of the Olympic Charter
1. In Swiss civil procedural law, the basic principle is that a claimant has standing to sue and the claim is admissible providing the person is invoking a substantive right of its own, i.e. a right deriving from contract, tort or another source. Gaining an Olympic medal is one of the ultimate goals in a star athlete’s career, which can bring with it many fruits, thereby giving her/him a very particular interest in challenging a decision if the modification of the decision could allow her/him to obtain a gold medal or a medal she/he did not get.
2. The interpretation of Rule 25 §2.2.1 of the Olympic Charter (“In case of exclusion from the Games…any medals or diplomas obtained shall be returned to the IOC”) is that the exclusion of an athlete under this provision must always be combined with the disqualification of the sanctioned athlete from all the competitions in which she/he participated during the games and by the forfeiture of all related medals.
On 15 February 2002, Olga Danilova, Larissa Lazutina and Beckie Scott competed in the women’s 5 km pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They placed first, second and third respectively, with Beckie Scott receiving the bronze medal.
Prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, in two post-competition doping controls on 8 and 20 December 2001, Larissa Lazutina tested positive for the banned substance Darbepoetin.
Larissa Lazutina nevertheless took part in the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games because the International Ski Federation (FIS) only imposed its sanction - a two-year suspension effective 8 December 2001- in June 2002 after the Games.
In February 2002 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Russian Athlete Olaga Danilova after her sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Darbepoetin (dEPO). On 24 February 2002 the IOC Disciplinary Commission disqualified the athlete Olga Danilova and excluded her from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
In June 2002, due to Larissa Lazutina’s positive testing prior to the Olympic Games, the FIS suspended her from competition from 8 December 2001 to 7 December 2003.
Accordingly, on 29 June 2003, the IOC’s Executive Board announced its decision to annul all the results of Larissa Lazutina obtained at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.
The affect of the above decisions upon Beckie Scott is that she would receive the silver medal in the women’s 5 km free pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. However, Beckie Scott considers she is entitled to receive the gold medal in such event because Olga Danilova should have had all her medals withdrawn, including the silver medal obtained in the women’s 5 km pursuit cross-country skiing competition.
Consequently, the COC and Beckie Scott decided to challenge the IOC’s decision of 24 February 2002 and filed their claim with CAS.
The CAS Panel considers that it necessarily follows from the IOC Executive Board’s decision to exclude Olga Danilova from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games that she be disqualified from all the competitions she participated in and that all her corresponding medals be forfeited.
Because Beckie Scott is waiting to receive the medal she is entitled to, the Panel considers the IOC must render its new decision as soon as possible. However, in order to leave the IOC sufficient time to prepare its new decision and since the scheduled date for the next meeting of its Executive Board is the end of February 2004, the Panel considers 15 March 2004 to be an appropriate deadline within which the new decision must be rendered.
Therefore the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides unanimously on 18 December 2003:
1.) The request for relief filed by Beckie Scott on 30 June 2003 is admitted.
2.) The request for relief filed by the Canadian Olympic Committee on 30 June 2003 is rejected.
3.) The decision of 24 February 2002 issued by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee is annulled.
4.) The matter in dispute is remitted to the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee with the order for it to render a new decision, by 15 March 2004, whereby in effect the IOC:
- i. Confirms the exclusion of Olga Danilova from the XIX Olympic Winter Games of Salt Lake City 2002.
- ii. Disqualifies Olga Danilova from all the cross-country skiing competitions in which she participated at the XIX Olympic Winter Games of Salt Lake City 2002.
- iii. Annuls all the results obtained by Olga Danilova at the XIX Olympic Winter Games of Salt Lake City 2002.
- iv. Gives the necessary orders and takes the measures required to withdraw all the medals obtained by Olga Danilova at the XIX Olympic Winter Games of Salt Lake City 2002.
- v. Gives the necessary orders and takes the measures required to amend accordingly the rankings in the women’s 5 km free pursuit cross-country skiing competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, in which Olga Danilova participated; ensuring in particular that Beckie Scott is ranked first and awarded the Olympic gold medal in the foregoing competition.
5.) (...).
