In a stinging indictment of what went wrong with the American athletics teams at the Beijing Olympics, a task force lashed out at the relay system, recommended streamlining Olympic trials, and called for a more stringent policy for drug cheats who want to be reinstated.

The 69-page report released yesterday was commissioned by USA Track and Field's new CEO, Doug Logan.

Americans led all countries with 23 athletics medals in Beijing but failed to live up to expectations in many areas. Their seven gold medals were the lowest haul since the 1997 World Championships. The task force is called 'Project 30,' a reference to the goal of winning 30 medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

The nine-person panel, which included sprint great Carl Lewis, decried an overall "lack of accountability, professionalism and cohesion" among staff, coaches and athletes. The group suggested athletes focus more on winning Olympic medals, less on things such as appearance fees and access to TVs in the Olympic village.

To spearhead all the changes, the task force called for the hiring of a general manager to oversee all aspects of USA Track and Field (USATF), which long has been criticised as being too political and balkanised.

Most important issue

Though not specifically asked to cover the doping issue, the task force said, "This is the single most important issue to the long-term success of track and field, domestically and internationally."

It called for current anti-doping standards to be augmented by the USATF, saying cheaters should be reinstated only if they provide depositions under oath "detailing what went into their decision to cheat, how they obtained and used their drugs, and who contributed to their cheating". It also called for dopers who want to return to enter a "rehab" programme so they could learn how to compete cleanly after their suspensions.

The task force conceded it was likely the system they recommend would be challenged in the courts, but believes the USATF "has a moral obligation to make the effort".

The panel called for the American Relay Program, which spent more than US$1 million and trained 173 athletes from 2003-08 , to be disbanded immediately, saying the concept was good but the execution wasn't.

The panel described a general atmosphere of confusion, politicking and anxiety that ultimately led to bad exchanges between Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay in the men's race and Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams in the women's