Murky waters
Chinese swimmers reminded of scandalous doping past
Posted: Sunday December 06, 1998 12:18 PM
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- China's swim team will hit the water at
the Asian Games on Monday with a reminder of the darkest chapter in
its story of drug shame.
Xiong Guoming, one of the 11 Chinese athletes who tested
positive for steroids in Hiroshima four years ago, will compete in
the men's 400-meter individual medley, taking his place on a team
that is constantly forced to defend itself.
Head coach Zhang Xiong said Xiong Guoming "feels fine" about
being back at an Asian Games. "That was the past," said Zhang,
brushing off drug questions Sunday. "We hope that we will be
clean."
The Chinese Olympic Committee tested athletes before their
departure for Bangkok, and Chinese media said the swimmers were
subjected to four surprise tests conducted by world governing body
FINA.
"We treat this as a major issue to make sure no Chinese
athletes will test positive," COC vice president Li Furong said.
Earlier this year China announced, through FINA, that any of its
athletes testing positive for steroids would be banned for life.
Under those criteria, Xiong would never have had his second chance
at an Asian Games.
Xiong won four golds in Hiroshima but has been mediocre since
returning to international competition at the East Asian Games a
year ago. He was one of many poor performers at the world
championships in Perth in January, as the Chinese appeared
demoralized by yet another scandal.
After female swimmer Yuan Yuan was caught trying to smuggle 13
vials of human growth hormone through Sydney Airport, four of her
teammates were nabbed with masking agents in their systems and
thrown out of the games.
Chinese women swimmers won 12 of the 16 golds at stake in the
1994 Rome world championships and all 15 of their races in the 1994
Asian Games.
The team won three gold medals at this year's world
championships. Two of those went in the medley events to world
record holders Chen Yan and Wu Yanyan, who will lead the Chinese
team here.
Fellow world record holders Le Jingyi and He Cihong were left
off a generally young squad assembled with a view ahead to the 2000
Olympics.
Japan's rising talent will test the inexperienced Chinese after
a successful world championships.
Mai Nakamura, a silver medalist in the 100-meter backstroke and
bronze medalist over 200; Ayari Aoyama, silver medalist in the
100-meter butterfly,and Yasuko Tajima, bronze medalist in the
400-meter medley, give the Japanese team undoubted class.
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