Coach drops lawsuits against Rogge, Pound

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Feb 8 (Reuters) The Austrian skiing coach at the centre of a doping case at last year's Turin winter Olympics has dropped his defamation case against IOC president Jacques Rogge and World Anti-Doping Agency chief Richard Pound.

''These lawsuits have been withdrawn this afternoon and they are now finished,'' Walter Mayer's lawyer Christian Pilz told Reuters by telephone from Vienna today.

He said a statement would be released later in the day.

The lawsuits were set to be heard in Vienna on Feb. 13 for Pound, also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, and on March 6 for Rogge.

The decision to drop the cases is expected to benefit the Austrian city of Salzburg which is bidding to host the 2014 Winter Games.

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