China's decision to ban one of its top swimmers for life after he failed a drug test is proof Beijing is serious about sending a clean team to the Olympics, a top anti-doping official said Monday.
Last week's announcement that swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng, along with his coach Feng Shangbao, was banned for life from the sport after he tested positive for anabolic steroids was an embarrassment for the host country just six weeks before the Beijing Olympics.
During an interview with the Associated Press, Zhao Jian, deputy director general of the China Anti-Doping Agency, said the case illustrates that China is "resolutely determined to send clean athletes to the Beijing Olympic Games."
"It shows China has a very systematic and strict anti-doping program, which includes ... all of the best athletes. The system is running effectively," he said.
But Zhao acknowledged that the embarrassing discovery "shows that anti-doping work here in China still has a long way to go. We are faced with many challenges."
Ouyang, a backstroke specialist who won three silver medals during the 2006 Asian Games, tested positive for anabolic steroids during a routine out-of-competition test in early May, Zhao said. The test was conducted at the anti-doping agency's new US$10 million drug laboratory, built just for the games.
The unusually harsh punishment - first-time offenses generally get a two-year suspension - reflects China' s determination to enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding drugs after its scandal-ridden history of athletes and doping.
It also sends a very strong message to elite athletes that they need to set positive examples as role models, said Zhao.
"For young teenagers or young athletes, these elite athletes have a great influence on them, both positive and negative. Of course, we hope that kind of influence should be positive because they are role models," he said.
China has taken on more stringent anti-drug measures after a series of doping scandals during the 1990s. In the past year, under pressure from the World Anti-Doping Agency, China began toughening its drug testing and is also trying to close down factories that produce performance-enhancing drugs and sell over Web sites.
China is one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of steroids and human growth hormone, which enhance muscle growth. Earlier this month, authorities announced that 150 illegal manufacturers and another 300 Web sites involved in drug distribution had been shut down.
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