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"These lawsuits have been withdrawn this afternoon and they are now finished," Walter Mayer's lawyer Christian Pilz told Reuters by telephone from Vienna on Thursday.

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

Sources said Mayer would also make a written statement.

Mayer's former lawyer had said his client's reputation and career was "damaged by completely groundless comments".

Rogge was quoted as saying during the Turin Games that Mayer was "the man who organises doping".

The Austrian coach was suing Pound for saying blood transfusion equipment was found at Mayer's home.

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

SALZBURG BOOST

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

Analysts said the chances of Salzburg, bidding against Russia's Sochi and South Korea's Pyeongchang, could have been hurt by the lawsuits.

The IOC will decide on the 2014 host city in July.

Mayer was banned by the IOC from attending the Turin Games and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver after being implicated in a blood transfusion scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Having been reappointed as head coach of Austria's cross-country team, Mayer attended the Turin Games in what the Austrian Ski Federation later described as a "private capacity".

The coach's presence prompted the IOC to launch coordinated night-time raids with the Italian police on the hotels of the Austrian cross-country and biathlon teams.

Ten Austrian athletes were tested for possible signs of doping but were found to be clean. The IOC has yet to issue a decision on the case having waited months for a report from the Italian authorities.

Mayer crashed his car into a police road-block near the Italian-Austrian border having left Turin on the day of the raids. He was subsequently briefly admitted to a psychiatric clinic.