LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND — On the day that the International Olympic Committee erased Marion Jones from the record books, BALCO founder Victor Conte met with the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency but did not identify athletes who have used steroids and other banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Conte requested Wednesday's meeting with Dick Pound in New York to discuss doping among Olympic athletes. Since Conte was released from prison after serving time for steroid distribution through his Bay Area laboratory, he has offered to help rid sports of its drug problem.
"It was inaccurately reported before the meeting that I would be naming names, but that was never my intention nor is that what occurred today," Conte said in an e-mail to media outlets, including The Times.
"Without naming the athletes, I did provide specific information regarding how athletes involved with doping around the world are so easily able to circumvent the anti-doping procedures in place."
Conte said on Monday in an e-mail that he wanted to meet with anti-doping officials before the International Olympic Committee reallocated Jones' Olympic medals. In that e-mail, Conte had said he would "share specific knowledge of past and present Olympic-caliber athletes, coaches and suppliers involved with doping around the world. . . ."
After the meeting, Pound told the Associated Press: "We talked about the macro and systemic problems and his perspective on that, his thoughts on how we could get better at what we do. I think we'll probably stay in touch. . . . We'll try to get a better handle on what he knows directly and what he knows as having been part of an overall operation."
Pound also sees Conte as a credible source despite his past.
"He's credible in the sense of knowing what has happened and what was going on," Pound said. "It's part of something he did in the past. That's behind him, and he'd like to now do what he can to make things work better."
Half a world away, the IOC met and formally stripped Jones of her five medals from the Sydney Games. The move was not unexpected after Jones admitted two months ago to having used performance-enhancing drugs beginning in September 2000, when the Games were held.
Jones, 32, won golds in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay and bronzes in the long jump and 400 relay. The other U.S. women who ran on those relays also could lose their medals.
