Drugs plague Games

A Romanian gymnast is stripped of her gold medal in the latest incident.

By Compiled from Times wires

SYDNEY, Australia -- Romanian gymnast Andreea Raducan was stripped Monday of the gold medal she won in the all-around competition, adding to the growing taint drugs have cast on the Olympic Games.

The 16-year-old tested positive for a banned stimulant, and the International Olympic Committee's executive board, following the recommendation of its medical commission, removed her medal. She was given the drug, pseudoephedrine, by the team doctor as part of a cold medication.

Raducan became the fourth athlete to be stripped of a medal at these Games because of a positive test, the second to lose a gold. She is the sixth athlete to test positive. The other five athletes -- three Bulgarian weightlifters, a hammer thrower from Belarus and a rower from Latvia -- were thrown out of the Games.

The drug issue took on a higher profile when international track officials confirmed Sunday that American shot putter C.J. Hunter, husband of 100-meter gold medalist Marion Jones, had tested positive for a steroid in July.

Hunter, who made the Olympic team at the trials in July, withdrew in early September citing surgery for a knee injury.

"I don't know what has happened, but I promise I will find out," he said late Monday at a news conference.

The announcement of Hunter's test result has raised questions about his wife, who is trying to win five gold medals at these Games. Jones, who expressed support for Hunter at the news conference, never has been accused of taking drugs, and she never has failed a drug test. But everyone will wonder, said Erica Johansson of Sweden, who will compete against Jones in the long jump.

"If you are married to someone taking drugs, it would be surprising not to know about it," she said. "I don't think she's doping, but she will live with this the rest of her career."

Doping, always a focus of international competition, moved to the forefront of these Games before they started when China withdrew 27 athletes from its team, saying there were concerns they could not pass drug tests. Taiwan, Canada, Norway, Kenya, Bulgaria, Belarus, Romania, Germany, Iran, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic dumped athletes who tested positive.

In the first week of competition, three Bulgarian weightlifters lost their medals for testing positive for furosemide, a banned diuretic used by lifters to flush fluids from their system to make weight. Losing medals were Izabela Dragneva, the gold medalist in the women's 105-pound event; Sevdalin Minchev the bronze medalist in the men's 137-pound class; and Ivan Ivanov, the silver medalist in the 123-pound class.

The Bulgarian team was kicked out of the Games because of the test results under the international federation's "three strikes and you're out for a year" policy aimed at rogue nations.

Two Romanian weightlifters were expelled for failing pre-Games out-of-competition tests. The team faced being kicked out but paid a $50,000 fine to allow the "clean" weightlifters to stay, under IOC rules.

Swimming's flurry of world records -- especially those set by Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands -- was tempered by drug suspicions in many races. Richard Quick, the American women's coach, raised hackles when he said near the end of the competition that "I absolutely do not think this is a drug-free Olympics. I am disappointed in the quality and frequency of testing that's done by the international governing body of the Olympics."

Quick did not name names or countries but did say he was not talking about de Bruijn, 26, who has been watched warily since she set 11 world records in four months. De Bruijn vehemently denies she takes drugs. Raducan, the first gymnast to be stripped of a medal, is allowed to keep the gold she won in the team competition and the silver she won in the vault. She also is allowed to remain in the athletes village with her team.

IOC vice president Kevin Gosper said there was considerable debate among the board members on what action to take against her and a difference of opinion among many of them. A stimulant such as pseudoephedrine is not likely to provide a competitive edge to a gymnast.

"It is a most unusual case," he said. "You have three events, during which the athlete proved to be positive in one. I don't know of any case like that before. It was a long discussion. It was not easy."

Ion Tiriac, president of Romania's National Olympic Committee, refused to comment after the decision. Before the decision, he said: "We believe this case is completely irrelevant. The athlete is the best gymnast in the world at this time -- she has proved it."

With Raducan's disqualification, another Romanian, Simona Amanar, gets the gold and teammate Maria Olaru goes from bronze to silver. Liu Xuan of China, the original fourth-place finisher, gets the bronze medal.

Pseudoephidrene is on the IOC's list of banned stimulants, Bach said. Tiriac said it is not on the banned list of the international gymnastics federation.

Raducan tested negative after the team competition Tuesday but positive after she won the all-around Thursday. She tested negative after the vault competition Sunday.

The team doctor who gave Raducan the drug in two cold medicine pills was expelled from the Games and suspended through the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. The decisions were confirmed by Thomas Bach, a member of the IOC's executive board.

"It takes a lot away from what we're doing, the clean athletes that are working hard at what they do every day," said American Stacy Dragila, who Monday won the gold medal in the inaugural women's pole vault competition. "I hope that it doesn't tarnish what we've accomplished. I know that I'm clean and that I earned it."

Said Masback: "No one really knew how clean other Olympics were, and no one really knows how clean this is."

The drugs that plague the Games

NANDROLONE

WHAT IT DOES: The anabolic steroid helps improve muscle mass by speeding the recovery of muscles from workout damage. It can be produced naturally by the body. It has been easily detectable for years, and medical officials have been puzzled about why a rash of cases involving the steroid has surfaced this year. One possible explanation is that nandrolone may be contained in improperly labeled nutritional supplements that many athletes use, some scientists have said. The Associated Press reported in late July that 343 positive nandrolone cases have been reported in sports around the world in the past year.

HOW IT'S TAKEN: It can be injected or taken orally.

HAZARDS: It can damage the liver and heart, and lead to violent and aggressive behavior.

WHAT PRODUCTS IT'S IN: Many nutritional supplements, including some powders made from animal organs. It also is present in many contraceptives, so the acceptable levels are higher for women than men.

EPHEDRINE

WHAT IT DOES: It acts as a stimulant and is believed to boost energy. The herb's history can be traced more than 5,000 years in China, where it was used to relieve nasal congestion and asthma. The synthetic form, pseudoephedrine, is commonly used in medications.

HOW IT'S TAKEN: Orally.

HAZARDS: It increases heart rates and blood pressure, potentially leading to problems such as heart attacks, hypertension and cardiac arrhythmia. It also is believed to cause nerve cell damage in the brain.

WHAT PRODUCTS IT'S IN: Many cold medications, such as Sudafed and Sinutab. Also, it is in some dietary supplements, often in combination with caffeine or other stimulants.

FUROSEMIDE

WHAT IT DOES: The generic name for Lasix, it's a diuretic used to flush fluids from an athlete's system so he can make weight.

HOW IT'S TAKEN: It can be injected or taken orally.

HAZARDS: It can cause anemia, blood disorders, blurred vision, constipation, weak or irregular heartbeat, muscle spasms and nausea, among other things.

WHAT PRODUCTS IT'S IN: High blood pressure medications.

- Compiled by MIKE STEPHENSON and Times researcher KITTY BENNETT