Athletics not in pre-Olympics drug cases list

Sydney: Recent random tests by the new World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) turned up 20 suspicious cases but none in athletics, the biggest sport at the Sydney Olympics, officials said on Saturday.

US drugs chief Barry McCaffrey declined to describe the suspicious tests as positive and refused to give any detailed information about the analysis or sports involved.

But he said, "There have been 20 elevated samples...There is an array of illegal substances."

WADA has informed all the international sporting federations concerned of the results. They now have to investigate the reasons for the results.

But International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) officials said WADA had not informed them of any positive tests in track and field.

"We have seen people withdrawing from the Olympics," McCaffrey said.

"Two cases were recently published by the International Olympic Committee's medical commission."

"We are allowing the process in each IF (international federation) to work."

On Friday Romania withdrew former Olympic weightlifting medallist Traean Ciharean from the Games after he tested positive for a banned substance.

Earlier this week positive tests involving Taiwanese weightlifter Chen Po-Pu, Bulgarian triple jumper Iva Prandzheva and Kazakh freestyle swimmer Yevgenia Yermakova were announced.

US drug officials said they hoped to have a test in place for human growth hormone (HGH), believed to be one of the most popular drugs used by cheats, by the next Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.

"I believe there will be a test for HGH," said US anti-doping agency head Frank Shorter, a former Olympic marathon champion.But officials will have to work hard to make sure any test is legally as well as scientifically sound before the Winter Games in February 2002.



(c) Reuters Limited.