MOSCOW — Every athlete competing in the 2002 Winter Games would be tested for drugs before coming to Salt Lake City under an ambitious proposal made Wednesday by Mitt Romney to the International Olympic Committee.

But his announcement of what would be a landmark effort to stop the use of performance-enhancing drugs at an Olympics was overshadowed by a midmorning protest against Beijing's bid for the 2008 Summer Games.

Nine people were arrested after what IOC Director General Francois Carrard described as a clash with Russian authorities as the demonstrators headed toward the hotel where the IOC is holding its meetings. At least one of those being held is a journalist, reportedly a photographer for the Associated Press.

Carrard said the IOC is monitoring the situation but that the demonstration was subject to Russian law. "When you are in a country, you have to behave," he said. A similar demonstration by Tibetan exiles was held outside of the IOC's Swiss headquarters in May without incident.

Romney said the protest did not change his opinion that Beijing should be seriously considered as a candidate to host the Olympics. He stopped short of endorsing the Chinese city.

"The Olympics builds bridges. For this reason, Beijing's bid should not be discarded," Romney said. "It is a great opportunity for the world family to throw out a circle that includes all."

His comments came as a surprise, since the Salt Lake Organizing Committee president previously had declined to comment on the decisions facing the IOC at its meetings here. Also, Congress is divided on whether to condemn Beijing's bid, while the Bush administration decided to remain neutral.

Romney said he felt compelled to speak out after arriving in Moscow on Tuesday and hearing firsthand suggestions that Beijing's bid does not deserve consideration. "The Olympics creates open countries," he said, calling hosting the Games "a way of favoring human rights."

Beijing's bid team agreed. "When I was in America, I was trying to show people what Beijing is really like. They will find out if they go there. Then they won't think human rights is connected with the Beijing bid," said Wong Zhizhi, a Chinese basketball player recruited last year by the Dallas Mavericks NBA team.

Wong Wei, the secretary general of the Chinese bid, said he was pleased Romney spoke out. "Very much. We are very appreciative of his comments," Wei said. He said Beijing is not worried about the effect of the protest on Friday's IOC vote to select a 2008 host city.

Romney had some good words for two other bid cities. "My heart belongs to Paris," he said. Romney served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there. He said he has also spent a lot of time in Toronto and called its beauty "something to behold."

The other contenders for 2008, Osaka and Istanbul, are believed to have little chance of winning. Romney said he hopes "all of the bid cities are given full and fair consideration."

The issue of testing every athlete for performance-enhancing drugs in advance of the Games was raised Wednesday by Romney and Fraser Bullock, SLOC's chief operating officer, with the IOC Executive Board. Board members said they liked the idea but that more work needs to be done.

The tests would be administered by a number of entities, including the international winter sports federations, national Olympic committees and the World Anti-Doping Agency created by the IOC. SLOC doesn't have the jurisdiction to begin testing until the athletes village at the University of Utah opens on Jan. 29.

Organizers are seeking $1 million from Congress to help cover the costs of testing athletes. Many of the countries sending athletes to the 2002 Games are already conducting what are known as out-of-competition tests. Because athletes don't know when they will be tested, such tests are considered a strong deterrent to the use of banned drugs.

Among the details of the proposal that still need to be worked out is how to track which athletes have been tested and how to test those who haven't.

Romney acknowledged the plan is ambitious but said it will help ensure a fair playing field for the estimated 2,500 athletes coming to Salt Lake to compete.

Harry Syvasalmi, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said drug-testers "have an opportunity to reach the goal in principle. . . . I wouldn't be too disappointed if it's only 80 percent."

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In Sydney, only 4 percent of athletes were tested before the start of the 2000 Games. No such tests were conducted on athletes before the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.

Syvasalmi is headed to Salt Lake City to meet with SLOC's doping control staff later this month.

Ottavio Cinquanta, head of the International Skating Union, said he still has questions about the proposal. "We are not against it in principle," Cinquanta said. "We have to work it out. But we appreciate SLOC."


E-mail: lisa@desnews.com

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