Rogge said he favors DNA sampling to check for evidence of blood doping, and called for a general increase across all sports in unannounced, out-of-competitition testing.

He noted the IOC will conduct 4,500 doping tests at next year’s Beijing Olympics and 5,000 in London in 2012 — compared to 3,700 checks in Athens in 2004.

At the Madrid doping conference, the IOC will push for flexibility in sanctions, with suspensions ranging from two to four years and life bans in certain cases, Rogge said.

The IOC will also propose a review of the “therapeutic exemption” rule, which allows athletes to use certain asthma or other medications if they have a valid medical certificate.

“The system today is too liberal, too flexible, and there is abuse there,” Rogge said.

Rogge said he expects a tight vote when the IOC selects the 2014 host city in Guatemala City on July 4. The three candidates are Salzburg, Austria; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Sochi, Russia.

“I expect it to be as close as Singapore,” Rogge said, referring to the vote in 2005 when London edged Paris in the final round for the 2012 Olympics. “The three candidate are of the same high quality.”

“What really makes the difference is the confidence the IOC members have in the bid committee, the confidence in the people,” he said.

Rogge was asked about the pressure put on the IOC by human rights and other groups to improve conditions in China before the Beijing Games. He said the IOC has a “very high ethical conscience” but is not the vehicle for demanding change.

“I respect the point of view of all these associations, but the IOC is not the answer to their investigations and problems,” he said.

The IOC also won’t get involved in the dispute between China and Taiwan over the 2008 Olympic torch relay. Taiwan, which split from China amid civil war in 1949, has refused an offer from the Beijing organizing committee (BOCOG) to be part of the route.

“The decision lies with BOCOG, not the IOC,” Rogge said.

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