Just one of 300 tested athletes fails dope test

Just one of 300 tested athletes fails dope test

BANGKOK (AP): Only one Asian Games athlete has tested positive
for drugs among the 300 for whom tests have been completed, a
games medical official said Wednesday.

About 800 athletes are expected to be tested by the time
competition ends on Sunday. More than 6,000 athletes from 41
countries are competing in 36 sports.

At the last Asian Games four years ago in Hiroshima, Japan, 15
athletes out of 700 tested were found to have used banned
substances, said Dr. Rueangsak Siriphol, chairman of the games'
medical control subcommittee.

This time, several athletes were thrown off their national
teams before the games began as a result of pre-games testing.
Those announced publicly included four South Korean gymnasts, a
South Korean swimmer and a Japanese billiards player.

Rueangsak said Wednesday that some Thai athletes also were
kept off their national team after failing pre-game tests, but he
was unable to give the exact number or any other details.

The only athlete at the games to fail a doping test so far was
Jordanian weightlifter Ayed Khawaldeh, who tested positive for
the banned substance triamterene. Triamterene is a diuretic, used
to help lose weight, allowing a competitor to compete in lower
weight categories. Diuretics can also be used to mask the use of
other drugs.

Khawaldeh, 25, was disqualified on Dec. 9 after the results of
his test were sent to the Olympic Committee of Asia. He was not a
medal winner, and had been tested at random.

Rueangsak also said that all of the 1,800 female competitors
who took gender tests had passed. The genetic tests look for the
presence of the Y male chromosome.

"All the tests show they are females according to their genes.
But their appearance. ... I am not sure," joked Rueangsak about
some of the more formidable-looking women athletes.

There are almost 2,000 women athletes taking part in the
games, and they are entitled to waive gender testing if they have
certification from previous Olympic-sanctioned events. However,
many have taken the tests voluntarily this time in an effort to
standardize documentation, said Rueangsak.