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China cracking down on drug use
Posted: Thursday January 06, 2000 10:09 AM
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- Top swimmers in China are being given blood tests to crack down on possible drug use before the Sydney Olympics later this year, a senior Chinese swimming official said on Thursday. "We're working hard to crack down on doping and last year we started blood-testing our swimmers, which is more thorough than testing urine samples," Zhang Qiuping, vice chairman of the China Swimming Association, told Reuters. Apart from 700 urine checks in 1999, Zhang said China also carried out about 100 blood tests, an initiative supported by the sport's world governing body FINA. FINA honorary secretary Gunnar Werner said: "We're encouraged by the work China has done in driving out drug use. China has decided to do blood tests and we appreciate that." China, once a swimming powerhouse, fell from glory after a series of drug scandals in the 1990s. Chinese swimmers had a golden haul in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, but were stripped of nine out of the 23 gold medals they bagged after seven swimmers failed drug tests. "We had a few black sheep and that has had a negative impact on us, but we're tackling the problem by stricter drug tests and harsh punishment," Zhang said. Some 10 Chinese swimmers and swimming coaches were suspended for drug offences in 1999, at least two banned for the second time, according to state media and FINA. State media reported in June last year that top Chinese swimmer Xiong Guoming, banned in 1994 for two years for steroid use, faced a life ban from swimming after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Blood-testing is done on a voluntary basis in international competitions and Zhang said it was useful in ensuring the sport was clean in China. Advocates of blood testing, including America's former multiple Olympic champion Mark Spitz, say it is more effective than urine-testing in detecting human growth hormones and erythropoietin (EPO). But critics say blood testing is inconvenient and could affect the performance of swimmers if carried out before competition. Zhang knocked those who say China's swimmers had not performed as well after some were caught using drugs. "Some of our critics say we haven't been performing as well after our swimmers were caught for taking performance enhancing drugs. That's an irresponsible statement," he said. "We're not so hopeful in the coming Games because our younger swimmers, which will replace the older ones, haven't had enough international exposure. So there's a vacuum in between," Zhang said.
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