AOC to propose athletes declare no past doping

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said Friday that he will propose at an AOC executive board meeting on Nov. 16 that for future games, all team members — athletes, coaches and officials — must sign a statutory declaration saying they have no "doping history."

"If they don't sign, they don't go to the games, they won't be selected. What I don't want is for the AOC to have egg on its face like cycling has," Coates said.

The declaration would form part of the Team Agreement that must be signed before someone is selected to an Olympic squad. Coates said anyone caught lying could face criminal charges, and be imprisoned for five to seven years.

If adopted it would affect athletes in contention for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"In my opinion we simply cannot allow the name of the AOC to be damaged, like that of the International Cycling Union, for not having taken every reasonable step possible to ensure that no person in authority on our Olympic team has a doping history," Coates said.