President of NOC of Turkey Promises to ‘aggressively’ Fight Doping as 31 Athletes Suspended

Professor Ugur Erderner, ambulance the President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Turkey, has promised to ‘aggressively’ fight doping after 31 Turkish athletes were suspended for drug violations.

The Turkish Athletics Federation (TAF) said the 31 track and field athletes had been suspended for two years each, with Esref Apak amongst the names.

Apak was a silver medalist in hammer throw at the 2004 Olympic Games and three of the 31, including Apak, were a part of Turkey’s London 2012 team.

Responding to the news, Erderner said: “I look forward to working closely with the new incoming chairman of Turkish athletics who I will expect to aggressively seek out and expel all athletes who cheat using performance-enhancing drugs. 

“The list of 31 Turkish athletes who have been suspended for doping violations, released today by the Turkish Athletics Federation, is a clear signal of how seriously Turkey is taking the global issue of doping.”

Erderner continued: “Led by the Turkish Government, Turkey has zero-tolerance for doping and it is our intention to have clean, young athletes competing on the international sporting stage in the future.”