Little news of doping no sign that local athletes are clean

Little news of doping no sign that local athletes are clean

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The few high-profile cases of doping in local sports in recent
years seem to have been forgotten once the blaring headlines die
down.

Although the sports scene may appear clean, experts say the
lack of reported cases is no guarantee that athletes are not
seeking a little chemical assistance.

Doping tests remain limited to major competitions, with no
internationally accredited laboratory here or random out-of-
competition testing, the monitoring that has caught out many
cheating athletes. Olympic gold medalist Brigitte McMahon
announced her retirement on Monday after testing positive in a
test at home, with the Swiss triathlete admitting she took EPO.

Regional development director for the International Amateur
Athletic Federation (IAAF) Ria Lumintoarso said the Athletics
Association of Indonesia (PASI) was the lone sports organization
with a demonstrated commitment to conducting doping tests.

"We've never had a commitment from other associations to
conduct doping tests although some of them, like the Soccer
Association of Indonesia and the Basketball Association of
Indonesia, hold continuous tournaments in one year," he said on
the sidelines of a two-day antidoping and sport medicine seminar
here on Monday.

"In the absence of (regular) doping tests, of course there
will be no doping cases here, and on the other hand, it leaves
wide open the possibility for athletes to use drugs."

Athletes could stop using the substances a few weeks before a
national competition or when they compete overseas to pass a drug
test.

Several local athletes, from sports as diverse as badminton,
weightlifting, soccer, cycling and swimming, have tested positive
for drugs. Some of the most prominent were former badminton world
champion Sigit Budiarto, who tested positive for the steroid
nandrolone and received a temporary ban, and swimmer Catherine
Surya.

Catherine, who held five national records in the early 1990s,
tested positive for steroids at the 1993 National Games, where
she won seven gold medals. At 13, she was the youngest athlete
ever to be banned for using illegal performance-enhancing
substances.

Testing facilities lag behind other countries in the region.
Malaysia and Thailand have internationally accredited drug-
testing laboratories in Penang and Bangkok, but this country's
one facility in Jakarta only meets national standards.

Ria said there was the possibility that some athletes
unknowingly took banned substances. Minarti Timur, a badminton
player banned for 18 months for taking an illegal stimulant,
insisted she had only taken medicine to treat flu.

"However, some athletes deliberately use narcotics, which of
course also contain doping substances," he said.

Although use of illegal performance-enhancing substances can
lead to short-term gains, there are bound to be long-term side
effects, from the risk of heart attacks, abnormally aggressive
behavior to development of male secondary characteristics in
women who take steroids.

Ria said the medical community here also lacked knowledge
about doping substances or those substances that were cleared for
use.

"That is why we are holding a seminar that features relevant
experts from the IAAF," he said of the event, with 12 countries,
including Malaysia, Singapore, India and Pakistan, represented

IAAF Medical and Antidoping Department director Dolle Gabriel
said he had the same impression as Ria of the lack of knowledge
about doping issues among athletes and sports administrators.

"It is my duty to inform about updates in doping substances to
developing countries," he said.