Topic: News: China Claims No Problem with Doping

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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China Claims No Problem with Doping

BEIJING - China is making big efforts to ensure a clean Chinese team for next year's Olympic Games, including increasing the number of tests each year, said a Chinese anti-doping official here on Wednesday.

Zhao Jian, office head of Anti-Doping Commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said they were well aware that an effective anti-doping program will count in assessing whether the Beijing Olympic Games next year is successful or not.

"We want our athletes to play a fair and clean game. Our aim is to ensure that no one in the Chinese delegation uses performance-enhancing substances," he said.

Over 9,000 tests were carried out last year, about 70 percent of which were conducted out of competition. In 2006, the number was 8,700 with 66 percent of out-of-competition tests.

According to the estimation of the State General Administration of Sports, there are around 30,000 to 40,000 athletes registered with different national sports associations.

"According to China's Anti-Doping Code, we are only entitled to test athletes who compete in national or provincial games or are registered with national sports associations," said Zhao.

"Not all the 1.3 billion Chinese are obliged to receive doping tests," he added.

Zhao said the number of tests is increasing each year with the number may exceed 10,000 this year as the Olympics approaches and high level athletes are their main targets.

The anti-doping commission set up a database updated everyday to give detailed information of the athletes' whereabouts.

"We follow all athletes' whereabouts and a pool of 2,000 or athletes are especially closely watched," he said.

Zhao said the pool usually includes athletes with good results or from certain events such as weightlifting, swimming, track and field, wrestling, cycling and rowing where generally positive cases happen.

Every day there are 300 doping test officials taking urine and blood samples from athletes who train all over China and these samples will be tested in the China Doping Control Center, an accredited lab recognized by WADA.

"If the athletes fail to report and thus are absent from our random tests, they will fail the tests," said Zhao.

"We won't hesitate in cracking down on drug cheats among Chinese athletes," he added.

The Anti-Doping Commission, entrusted by Beijing Olympics organizers, will be responsible to implement the doping control plan for the Beijing Olympic Games where 4,500 dope tests are expected.

"What we want most is a clean Games next year, where athletes from all over the world feel that they are competing fair and square," he said.

A new doping control center of 5,000 square meters is under construction in order to serve the Olympic Games where about 200 tests to be conducted every day.

A hundred and fifty people, including 20 international doping control experts, will work in the center during the Games.

[Rob Gray]

30-40 000 registered athletes! for every sport, I don't buy it.

I have heard of figures of 300 000 and that was just weightlifting.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Zero tolerance for Chinese offenders
By Lei Lei

China will closely monitor top athletes including world champion hurdler Liu Xiang to ensure a clean Chinese delegation at the Beijing Games as the country builds on years of improved transparency regarding doping tests, senior officials told China Daily.

"We set up a testing pool many years ago that requires all athletes on the list to report their whereabouts whenever they change their location," said Zhao Jian, office head of the Anti-Doping Commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

"This database is updated every day to provide detailed information about the athletes, so we can easily track them down whenever we want to test them out of competition," he added.

According to Zhao, the pool includes athletes with good results, or those in high-risk sports like weightlifting, swimming, track and field, wrestling, cycling and rowing.

"As the test results can change quickly due to an athlete's rapid metabolism, it is important for us to locate them immediately.

"We watch about 2,000 athletes closely each year. The top eight or 16 in each of their respective sports are all listed in the pool, including Liu Xiang."

According to statistics from the State General Administration of Sports, China's sports governing body, there are between 30,000-40,000 athletes registered with national sports associations in the country.

Over 9,000 tests were carried out last year, 70 percent of them out of competition.

Zhao said the number of tests is increasing annually and may exceed 10,000 this year.

"According to China's Anti-Doping Code, we are only entitled to test athletes who compete in national or provincial games, or those who are registered with national sports associations," Zhao added.

Every day, some 300 doping test officials take urine and blood samples from athletes who train all over the country. These samples are tested in the China Doping Control Center, an accredited lab recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"If the athletes fail to report and thus are absent from our random tests, they will fail the tests and be severely punished," said Zhao. "We won't hesitate in cracking down on drug cheats among Chinese athletes."

From 1990, China has made rapid strides in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs and has begun meting out severe punishments to offenders in recent years.

At the 10th National Games in 2005, long-distance running star Sun Yingjie tested positive for the banned steroid androsterone after clinching silver at the women's 10,000m. She was slapped with a two-year ban and stripped of her medal.

Last year, anti-doping officials unearthed 450 doses of EPO, testosterone and steroids during a raid on Anshan athletics school's training camp. The headmaster of the northeastern Chinese school was suspended and the school was banned from the provincial games.

"The punishment in those cases shows that China is becoming more and more transparent in dealing with drug-taking," Zhao said.

"We are well aware that an effective anti-doping program will count in assessing whether the Beijing Games is successful or not.

"We want our athletes to play a fair and clean game."

Zhao also said that no positive cases would be hidden during the Games.

"All of the tests will be closely supervised by WADA and IOC, and the lab will work transparently," he said. "All the results will be reported to WADA immediately."

China is also working on better educating athletes and coaches about doping with a firm goal in mind.

"What we want most is a clean Games next year, where athletes from all over the world feel that they are competing on a fair and equal basis," Zhao added.