Drugs in Sport: The United States has once more failed to fulfil its financial commitment to the World Anti-Doping Agency.

For the second year running, the US - which screamed louder than any other country four years ago that the International Olympic Committee were not taking the problem of drugs seriously - has failed to honour its obligation to pay the Montreal-based WADA its $4 million on time.

It has left the organisation charged with stamping out drug abuse with a serious cash shortfall, threatening its effectiveness in the fight against doping in the run-up to next year's Olympics in Athens.

Dick Pound, the WADA's president, revealed yesterday that it had received only 25 per cent of its $20.24 million budget for 2003.

"This is totally unacceptable," he said. "Unless these commitments are honoured we will be in a critical state."

Countries were supposed to pay their 2003 contributions before the start of the year, but the US government has only recently fulfilled its pledge for 2002. It has told Pound it will not pay its latest due until November at the earliest.

Pound claimed that endangered the WADA's ability to carry out its full remit 15 months before the Athens games.

"We will not be able to do a lot of research into anti-doping and have to cut back on things like tests and independent observer missions, all things we think contribute to the fight against doping in sport," he said.

Britain has paid, although the contribution is still with the Council of Europe, but several other countries who claim to be serious about the fight against anti-doping have also yet to fulfil their promises. They include France, Spain, Italy and Canada.

Barry McCaffrey, a hero of the first Gulf War and the man appointed by Bill Clinton as America's drugs czar, swept into the Lausanne headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in 1999 in the wake of the Tour de France doping scandal demanding that they find a solution to the drug problem.

It was partly because of the strong stance the five-star general adopted that WADA was established as an independent agency.

Now there are no headlines on the issue and it seems that the US government has lost interest.

Pound has long been suspicious that the US is not truly serious about tackling the problem. "They profess commitment, but this is not translated into concrete action," Pound said.

Guardian Service