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Collision course New study results may contradict 1998 IOC findings
Posted: Wednesday March 08, 2000 06:33 PM
GENEVA (Reuters) -- An International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission expert disputed the findings of a FIFA study on nandrolone on Thursday, leaving the two bodies on a collision course ahead of the Sydney Olympics. A study commissioned by FIFA carried out on 148 Swiss second division soccer players showed that, when under stress, higher levels of the steroid could be produced naturally in the body above the current IOC threshold that would result in sanctions. The world governing body's study appears to contradict one carried out by the IOC at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, challenging the IOC's right to impose suspensions at the 2000 Summer Games. "I don't want to say there were errors but we don't even know if it was been presented to scientists, we don't know if it's been reviewed," said Dr. Patrick Schamasch, director of the IOC medical commission. "I've heard about the study but I don't know anything about it. We have our own study we conducted at the Nagano Olympics on 621 athletes in real competition, not simulated. Only five were above our limits -- all women -- all others were below. "From our study in Nagano we are comfortable with the two nanogram cutoff level." The FIFA study, however, indicated that an athlete could produce nandrolone levels above two nanograms per millilitre of urine, leaving open the possibility of a confrontation if a player in the Olympic soccer tournament were to test positive for the banned substance in Sydney later this year. "The finding of the IOC is that there is a threshold of two nanograms," said FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren, adding that nandrolone will remain on the world governing body's banned list. "FIFA is not so sure you can say that's accurate.
"The study shows it's not sure what the threshold value is where you can say, well, someone must have taken something. There seems to be some doubt of where the threshold starts." With the possibility of a confrontation over sanctions looming, the nandrolone problem will be one of the top items on the agenda at FIFA's executive board meetings in Zurich on March 23-24. "It absolutely has to be resolved prior to the Olympics," said FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper. "It has to be." Several high-profile athletes have recently tested positive for nandrolone, sparking debate about the validity of current procedures. They include Britain's former Olympic 100 meters champion Linford Christie, ex-Olympic 5,000 meters gold medallist Dieter Baumann of Germany and Jamaican veteran sprinter Merlene Ottey. Last month the International Amateur Athletic Federation rejected a proposal from the British governing body to suspend disciplinary action against athletes who have recently tested positive for nandrolone. Last year 343 positive cases were reported around the world in a variety of sports.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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