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A watchful eye Australian swimmers suspicious of Chinese
Posted: Thursday January 13, 2000 01:39 PM
SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Dual Olympic gold medallist Kieren Perkins has joined a growing list of Australian swimmers and coaches suspicious of recent exceptional performances by Chinese competitors in the lead-up to the Sydney Games. Perkins, who won the 1,500-meter freestyle gold at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Games, told Australian radio on Thursday that a series of unusually fast times by Chinese swimmers at a World Cup meeting in Shanghai last week were suspicious. The Australian, mindful of China's long record of doping offences, said history appeared to be repeating itself. "It happened before Atlanta and seven Chinese swimmers failed dope tests at the Asian Games in Hiroshima less than a month later. A further four Chinese tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the 1998 world championships in Perth while another swimmer and her coach were caught smuggling human growth hormone into Sydney airport. Six more Chinese swimmers and five coaches have been suspended since then for drug offences. China's Zhang said last week: "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." R
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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