Many athletes unaware of banned drugs

Many athletes unaware of banned drugs

JAKARTA (JP): Illegal drug-taking can cost athletes their
careers, but few know much about banned drugs.

The chairwoman of the 19th Southeast Asian Games doping
committee, Dangsina Moeloek, told The Jakarta Post that many
athletes did not know what doping was all about.

"We experienced this during the National Games last year when
six athletes were convicted of using banned substances but all of
them said they did not take the substances on purpose," she said
recently.

A men's tennis player, two markswomen and one marksman, a
men's judoka and a female hockey player failed dope tests during
last year's National Games.

But, despite the National Sports Council stripping them of
their medals and records, they all received minimum sentences
from their respective sports organizations on the grounds that
they were not aware the drugs were banned.

They were lucky to escape life bans, such as that imposed on
Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson after the International Amateur
Athletics Federation found an excessive level of testosterone in
his urine sample in 1993.

Johnson had earlier been suspended for two years for using the
steroid stanozolol on course to an Olympic gold medal and a world
record in Seoul nine years ago.

One of the country's doping experts, Dangsina, pledged a drug-
free SEA Games, thanks to a consistent campaign against illegal
drug use.

"I'm confident that this will be a clean Games, or at least
there will be no Indonesian athletes who fail dope tests,"
Dangsina said.

She said the doping control committee had worked hard in the
run-up to the Games, through counseling and periodic urine tests.

"Officials in charge of the national training program for the
SEA Games have allowed us to conduct out-of-competition random
tests on 110 athletes. This preventive method has made each
athlete aware of banned drugs," Dangsina said.

The Dangsina-led doping control team will conduct more than
500 random urine samples every day during the eight main days of
competition, making it one of the busiest committees in the SEA
Games.

Backed up by 123 officials who include 50 doctors, the
committee will also conduct gender verification tests. They will
be in groups of three spread over the 34 venues and the rest will
be posted in the doping control center in Senayan.

Despite the heavy workload, the doping committee received
relatively little money compared to other commissions. The
consortium has earmarked Rp 177 million (US$47,850) out of the
Games' total budget of Rp 105 billion ($30 million) for Dangsina
and her team.

Quick job

Dangsina said her committee would work 24 hours a day to
complete testing procedures and let each participating team
concerned know the results as soon as possible.

In the past SEA Games, it took the doping committee between
one and two weeks to reveal its results, usually after the Games
had concluded.

All analyses will be conducted in a city-owned laboratory in
Rawasari, East Jakarta. The laboratory has received temporary
accreditation from the Sydney doping laboratory from Oct. 6 to
Oct. 25.

Each sample will cost $125 to analyze.

"For the first time ever, a SEA Games host country is
authorized to conduct doping analysis," Dangsina said.

Shortly after its dedication last year, the laboratory was
used to examine urine samples of athletes participating in the
National Games.

Indonesia used to send its samples to Sydney or Beijing for
laboratory analysis.

During the Games, representatives from the Sydney laboratory
will be in Jakarta to observe the analysis and to report on the
procedures.

Based on the test results, the Games executive committee will
question those athletes who test positive and then decide on
suitable penalties. (yan)