Electronic Telegraph
Monday 2 October 2000
Mihir Bose
THE United States of America Track and Field cleared two athletes who had
been found to be positive for nandrolone without telling anyone in a move
which has been described as "alarming" by the International Amateur Athletic
Federation's top anti-doping official.
Professor Arne Ljungqvist, head of the IAAF's medical commission, said in
Sydney yesterday: "The Americans have taken the privilege on themselves to
exonerate without informing us who the athletes are and saying this is
confidential. That is alarming. It rings bells in the IAAF."
Ljungqvist contrasted the secrecy of the Americans with that of the British
who have made public the four nandrolone cases involving Gary Cadogan,
Dougie Walker, Linford Christie and Mark Richardson.
Ljungqvist had been critical of Britain for refusing to disclose the names
to the public before the appeals procedure was over, but yesterday he said:
"When I was reported to have made those comments UK friends came up to me
and they were a little bit upset. What I said was you can't keep these cases
secret, they leak out. But there is a clear difference between the US and
UK. After the A sample of the athlete has been tested the UK give us
information.
"As far as informing the IAAF is concerned, the UK is not a problem. But the
Americans do not inform us at all. And if the Americans exonerate an athlete
they do not tell us anything. They will have to change."
Ljungqvist's comments came as more details emerged about the curious way the
Americans dealt with the doping test of C J Hunter, the husband of triple
Games gold medallist Marion Jones. He tested positive at the Bislett Games
in Norway on July 28. The results of the test, which showed that Hunter was
1,000 times over the limit for nandrolone, arrived from the Norwegian lab on
Aug 10.
The Americans were informed by the IAAF on Aug 11 and asked to seek an
explanation from Hunter. What they came up with, says Ljungqvist, "was no
explanation" and on Aug 24 the IAAF informed the USATF that Hunter should be
excluded from the Olympics. However, says Ljungqvist, "the Americans said
Hunter had not informed his wife and must be given time to inform her". The
next day was the last day for entering athletes for the Olympics and the
Americans gave Hunter his credentials for Sydney and listed him in the US
media handbook. The IAAF were clearly alarmed by this and kept on telling
the USATF that Hunter could not compete. On Sept 10, said Ljungqvist, "we
reminded them he is not allowed to compete". The next day Hunter withdrew
but the reason given was that he was injured.
Meanwhile, as Ljungqvist was putting further pressure on the Americans
yesterday, it emerged that three more athletes had tested positive. They
were Ashot Danielyan, a bronze-medal winning weightlifter from Armenia, and
Norwegian wrestler Fritz Aanes.
Another athlete, the Russian 400 metres runner Svetlana Pospelova, also
tested positive for steroids. But in her case the test took place after she
had finished fourth in the first heat of the 400m and by the time the
results were known the Russians had already sent her home.
In total, Sydney has so far carried out 2,663 urine tests and taken a
further 313 blood samples as part of the test for EPO. These have resulted
in nine positives, seven in competition, and two out of competition, with
four of the seven coming from weightlifting.
Eamonn Condon
WWW.RunnersGoal.com
