Five test positive for doping at 2003 SEA Games

Five test positive for doping at 2003 SEA Games

Agence France-Presse, Hanoi

Four medal-winning Vietnamese athletes and a silver medalist
from Myanmar have tested positive for using banned substances
during last month's Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, state media
said Wednesday.

Laboratory tests in Beijing detected traces of stanozol and
testosterone in urine samples from the four Vietnamese, while
furosemide, a diuretic, was found in the urine of Myanmar's
female judo medalist Aye Aye Thin.

All three substances are banned under International Olympic
Committee (IOC) rules and the five athletes are likely to face
two year competition bans.

The Tuoi Tre said the four Vietnamese athletes were Hoang Hong
Anh, who won two men's canoeing golds; Pham Thi Diu, who
collected two women's fin swimming golds; Pham Toan Thang, winner
of three men's fin swimming titles; and Nguyen Mai Quynh, a
silver medalist in the women's triple jump.

Dr Le Quy Phuong, deputy head of doping control at the
Southeast Asian Games, said the five would be stripped off their
medals and banned from all competition for two years.

"The athletes have right to lodge complaints. The sport unions
and Olympic committees of the athletes have the right to ask for
the urine samples to be retested at another lab that is
recognized by the IOC," Phuong told the Thanh Nien newspaper.

All gold medal winners at the regional mini-Olympics were
tested for the use of banned performance-enhancing substances.
Silver and bronze medalists were also randomly selected for
testing.

In total, more than 5,000 athletes and coaches from 11
countries took part in the Southeast Asian Games, which closed on
Dec. 13. Host Vietnam finished with 158 gold medals. Second
placed Thailand took home 90 golds.