Prince Alexandre de Merode of Belgium, who for more than three decades served as the International Olympic Committee's point man in a "war" on athletes' use of performance-enhancing drugs, has died. He was 68.
De Merode died Tuesday night in a Brussels hospital. The cause of death was not announced. He was known to have lung cancer.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday November 22, 2002 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 18 inches; 658 words Type of Material: Correction
De Merode obituary -- The obituary of Alexandre de Merode in Thursday's California section stated that he was born in Etterbek, Belgium. The correct spelling is actually Etterbeek.
De Merode had been an IOC member since 1964; only two current IOC members have served longer. His hereditary title of "prince" has been passed down for generations in his family; he was not a member of Belgium's royal family.
IOC President Jacques Rogge, a fellow Belgian, issued a statement that called De Merode "a fervent defender of Olympic values throughout his life." Juan Antonio Samaranch, who headed the IOC from 1980 to 2001, said that during his presidency De Merode was "the first and the most important fighter against doping."
De Merode served on the IOC's policymaking executive board from 1980 to 1990. He was an IOC vice president twice, in 1986-90 and 1994-98.
Born in 1934 in Etterbek, Belgium, De Merode was conversant in English but preferred to speak French. He was not a doctor but for 35 years he served as chairman of the IOC's medical commission -- charged with blunting athlete use of muscle-building steroids and other substances.
Don Catlin, head of the UCLA lab that oversaw drug tests at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as well as the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, said Wednesday that De Merode had "enormous commitment and integrity" and "took on this issue when nobody else even thought about it."
In 1988, the commission found Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson guilty of doping after he had won the 100-meter race at the Seoul Olympics. Johnson, who had used steroids, was stripped of his medal.
In recent years, De Merode's commission repeatedly sounded warnings about the disturbingly high rate of asthma reported by world-class athletes as well as athletes' expanding use of nutritional supplements. Certain asthma inhalers contain performance-enhancing stimulants. Some supplements have been found to contain the steroid nandrolone and other substances banned by the IOC.
Over the last 35 years, however, the IOC's anti-doping campaign has often proven ineffective and De Merode had been accused by critics of being politically ineffectual or willfully ignorant of real life in the world's gyms, pools and weight rooms.
