Electronic Telegraph
Sunday 1 October 2000
Owen Slot
THE UNITED States have been threatened with suspension from international
athletics by Arne Ljungqvist, the senior vice-president of the IAAF, the
parent body of the sport, because of their rules over drug-testing.
Ljungqvist says the refusal of USA Track and Field to change their rules has
reached a point where the ultimate sanction - suspension from the
IAAF -would be considered. He hopes this will remain a threat, but insists
that "we cannot have one regulation for the United States and another for
the rest of the world".
In the last few days, USATF has been exposed for having 10 unnamed
drugs-positives still unresolved. Craig Masback, their chief executive, has
declared none of the 10 are competing in Sydney, but Ljungqvist's contempt
for the US system is such that he is not even prepared to take Masback at
his word. "I have no clue if these athletes are here," he said. "How could
I? Of course they could be here, it could be anyone. We cannot do anything,
we do not know who they are.
"These threats of suspension are well known to the USATF. They know they
have to find a solution because they cannot live with this lack of
credibility and suspicion and the general notion that they may be covering
things up. They should be keen to put a procedure in place which takes this
image away. I've told them that their procedures cast a doubt."
Traditionally, the United States Olympic authorities have prided themselves
on their clean image, but the finger is now being pointed at them. A case in
point is that of C J Hunter, the shot-putter married to Marion Jones, who
was found positive in four tests carried out by the IAAF's testing system.
If Hunter's tests had been carried out by the American federation, says
Ljungqvist, no one within the IAAF would have got to know about them and he
could very well be competing here in the Olympics. "But because the tests
were carried out by the IAAF, we had the primary information, so we would
have taken any action to prevent him from competing."
The problem lies with the strict confidentiality within which drug-testing
in America is carried out. When urine tests are taken they are split into A
and B samples; it is when an A-sample shows positive that the B-sample is
tested. The IAAF rules state that a national federation should inform them
when an athlete's A-sample tests positive. That way the IAAF can monitor the
jurisdiction progress.
"But with the US, we do have a problem because they keep their cases secret
for a long time," Ljungqvist said. "They don't declare after the A or the B,
or even after the full process is over if the athlete is exonerated. So we
never come to know about it. How are we supposed to monitor and ensure that
cases are treated in the same and fair way?"
It was after USATF had exonerated Mary Slaney three years ago that the IAAF
introduced the rule whereby they could step in and reconsider a case if it
is deemed to have been wrongly handled. "But if we have no information, we
can do nothing," said Ljungqvist. "This is what happens with the United
States, they don't inform us.
"The problem with the United States can only be solved by them changing
their procedures. They claim they have a strict confidentiality to observe
by law. This is impossible. I told them that if this is the correct
interpretation of your law, then you will have to work on changing it.
"They have to change. There is no other solution. These threats are not a
nice way to try to find a solution. They have resisted the pressure up to
now, but they have never been subjected to this pressure before."
The early signs are that the pressure is beginning to pay off. In response
to recent criticism, USATF announced on Friday a review of their anti-doping
rules. If this doesn't work, says Ljungqvist, then he will go "to a higher
authority".
This is a reference to General Barry McCaffrey, referred to as the "US drugs
tsar", a personal appointment by President Bill Clinton to clean up drugs in
sport. "It is no secret that I got a message from the department of General
McCaffrey," said Ljungqvist. "So USATF will be under pressure from many
sides. I hope we do not clash, but we are in a sort of clash today."
Ljungqvist has also provided further information about Hunter's four
positive tests in the last four months. Hunter's nandrolone levels, he says,
may in fact have exceeded the reported figure of 2,000 times over the
acceptable threshold.
"The figure may even have been 3,000 or 4,000 times over," he said. "That
can easily happen if you take it by mouth and the urine sample is taken at
the ideal time after the intake."
Of the four tests, two were out-of-competition tests, the other two were
taken after competing in the Bislett Games in Oslo in July and the
Weltklasse meeting in Zurich in August. All four were positive, showing
varying levels of nandrolone.
"The varying levels of nandrolone reflect, from a scientific point of view,
an oral intake of a nandrolone precursor."
Eamonn Condon
WWW.RunnersGoal.com
