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.