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54 maltatoday SUNDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2017 Sport OLYMPICS WADA lifts suspension of Los Angeles lab THE World Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday it has lifted a three- month partial suspension of the University of California, Los An- geles (UCLA) Olympic Analytical Laboratory. The laboratory, which had con- tinued to carry out its regular anti-doping activities, is no longer required to obtain a second opin- ion prior to reporting adverse an- alytical findings for four specific prohibited substances, WADA said in a statement. UCLA's lab was suspended in June from analysing glucocor- ticoids prednisolone and pred- nisone and the anabolic steroids boldenone and boldione after WADA's quality assessment pro- cedures "identified non-conform- ities with best practice," the anti- doping agency said at the time. "We commend the UCLA Labo- ratory for their quick and effective response in addressing the issue that led to the partial suspen- sion," WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said. "Athletes can be confident that the Laboratory is operating at the high standards required by WADA and the global anti-doping program." WADA from time to time sus- pends accredited laboratories that do not meet established stand- ards. The French anti-doping labora- tory of Chatenay-Malabry, where disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong's samples had been tested, last month was provision- ally suspended by WADA. The suspension was imposed "due to analytical issues self-re- ported to WADA by the laborato- ry," the agency said in a statement, without elaborating. IOC suspends Brazil's Nuzman after arrest over vote-buying allegations BRAZIL'S national Olympic com- mittee (COB) and its head Carlos Nuzman were provisionally sus- pended by the International Olym- pic Committee on Friday, a day after the 75-year-old was arrested in Rio de Janeiro in connection with a cor- ruption investigation. However, the IOC said in a state- ment Brazilian athletes would not be affected and Team Brazil would be able to take part at next year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Nuzman, a former IOC member and now honorary member, is ac- cused of arranging more than $2 million in bribes to get the IOC to pick Rio de Janeiro as host of the 2016 Olympic Games and faces al- legations including corruption and money-laundering. He has denied any wrongdoing. Rio was awarded the Games in 2009, successfully bidding against Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid. The IOC said Nuzman would pro- visionally lose all "the rights, prerog- atives and functions" deriving from his IOC status and that he would be withdrawn from the coordina- tion commission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The COB was suspended because it was responsible for Rio's bid to stage the Games, the IOC said. As a result, subsidies and payments from the IOC have been frozen. "This decision shall not affect the Brazilian athletes," it added. "The IOC will accept a Brazilian Olym- pic Team in the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 and in all other competitions under the um- brella of the COB with all rights and obligations." The decision was welcomed by IOC member Richard Peterkin, who has repeatedly criticised the IOC leadership in recent months for its handling of several corruption cases involving members. "It had to be done," Peterkin, an IOC member from St Lucia, said on Facebook. "There was just too much evidence, some of it self incriminat- ing. "The reputational damage for the Olympic Movement is huge, and there will be more revelations to come. We need to drain the swamp." In August 2016, IOC President Thomas Bach awarded the organi- sation's highest honour, the Olym- pic Order in gold, to Nuzman, prais- ing his work for the Rio Games. Nuzman is the latest official to be involved in ongoing corruption in- vestigations and a further blow to the reputation of the Olympics. Frankie Fredericks, another IOC member, has temporarily stepped down from his posts pending the results of those investigations. He denies any wrongdoing. Senior IOC member Patrick Hick- ey, who has also vehemently denied any wrongdoing, has imposed a self- suspension since he was involved in an Irish Olympic Committee ticket scandal and in September resigned from the IOC Executive Board. Nelio Machado, a lawyer for Nuz- man, told reporters on Thursday that the vote-buying accusations were unfounded. Brazilian police first raided Nuz- man's home in September and ac- cused him of paying a $2 million bribe to the son of Lamine Diack, a former IOC member from Senegal and former head of the international athletics federation (IAAF). Both Diack and his son have de- nied the allegations. Namibian Fredericks has admitted receiving money from Diack's son but has said it was for professional services ren- dered. Marcelo Bretas, the federal judge who authorised the arrests, said on Thursday that new evidence in- dicated that Nuzman's role in the alleged vote-buying scheme was "more relevant" than previously thought.