Todd's silence 'enough to dump him'

By GEOFF CUMMING and PATRICK GOWER

New Zealand Olympic chiefs would be well within their rights to dump Mark Todd from their team, international Games officials say.

The technical officer for the International Olympic Committee, Simon Toulson, said from Lausanne last night that under Olympic rules Todd could be dropped from the team.

It "was not an issue" that he had not admitted or even tested positive to using drugs.

Todd has refused to confirm or deny claims by Britain's Sunday Mirror that he snorted cocaine.

"Without [Todd] coming out yes or no, the New Zealand Olympic Committee is within its rights to say it doesn't believe [he] should be selected for the Games - they could just say his selection is against the spirit of the Games."

Todd's place was put in further doubt yesterday, with fresh pictures claiming to show him sniffing cocaine in an Oxford hotel room snapped up by an as-yet-unknown New Zealand publication.

Todd did not want to comment on either issue when contacted last night.

He had earlier ejected a Television New Zealand reporter from his Gloucestershire home, threatening to "let the big dog out and I mean it. Now just get off our place. I'm sick of this."

Last night, a Holmes poll of 14,438 viewers showed 65 per cent thought Todd should still represent New Zealand at the Games.

In a Herald iTouch poll last week, 87 per cent believed the horseman should be allowed to compete.

An Auckland photo news agency has sold the eight new images, stills from a video, which it obtained from the Sunday Mirror. Agency owner Kevin Townsend is refusing to say who bought the pictures, or how much was paid, on the grounds of commercial sensitivity.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee says the photographs may not provide the necessary standard of proof for it to reconsider Todd's Olympic selection.

General secretary Mike Hooper said he understood the pictures were inconclusive.

"I haven't seen any pictures and really it's not for me to review evidence. I'm not a policeman. It's not our role. Having a picture of somebody in a room somewhere - what does it prove, what is it showing?"

He said the committee was dissatisfied with Todd's refusal to confirm or deny the allegations and was taking steps to resolve the impasse. Mr Hooper would not elaborate, but said: "We are not letting the matter rest."

Mr Toulson said that if Todd was omitted, any attempt by him to appeal was unlikely to succeed. He referred to Olympic Charter bylaws saying: "Selections shall be based not only on the sports performance of an athlete but also on his ability to serve as an example to the sporting youth of his country."

Last night, New Idea publisher Anathea Ruys said she had seen the pictures but people would have to "wait and see" whether the magazine had bought them.

North & South editor Robyn Langwell said her magazine had not bought the photos, but they were "very damning."

Two women's magazines said they had rejected the "inconclusive" photos.

Woman's Weekly editor Rowan Dixon said the pictures were clearer than the one published in Britain, "but you can do anything with a picture these days."

Woman's Day also rejected the pictures. Editor Michele Crawshaw said the pictures were fuzzy and she would not be able to stand up in court and confirm they showed Todd.

Mr Hooper said the New Zealand Olympic Committee wanted the matter resolved, "one way or the other."

"But we're not going to presume guilt or innocence at this point or at any stage, for that matter."

He said that while the committee had the authority to remove Todd, they would give him more time to confirm or deny the allegations.

"Nobody has ever denied that we can determine the team. Of course we have the final say, it's our team.

"The call remains to clarify the matter, and the only person who can do that is Mark Todd. We will give him time, we owe him that."

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