Call for new drugs probing powers
China officials push for effective ways to trace offenders' supply sources
A Chinese Asian Games gold medallist's silence after a failed drugs test has prompted a top mainland official to call for measures to encourage offenders to disclose their suppliers' identities.
Wang Hongni, winner of the women's triathlon at the Doha Asian Games last year, was banned by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) after testing positive for steroids on August 24. The 24-year-old, who trains with a team run by China's military, has become the nation's highest-profile doping case since women's long-distance runner Sun Yingjie was banned for two years in 2005, also for steroid use.
Wang (pictured) tested positive for 'exogenous metabolites of testosterone' in both her A and B samples during an out-of-competition test.
She has accepted her punishment and waived her right to a hearing, severely diminishing investigators' hopes of establishing who provided her with the steroids.
Zhao Jian, the head of the anti-doping commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee, feared the investigation would fail to identify the figures behind her positive tests.
'It's very unusual that she has waived her right to a hearing. It signals her intention, if not an imposed will, to shoulder all the blame,' said Zhao, who oversees the national anti-doping laboratory in Beijing, which was commissioned by the ITU in late August to carry out an out-of-competition test on Wang.
'If she really wants to remain tight-lipped throughout the proposed investigation, there is really not much investigators can do to track down the accomplices, under the current system,' said Zhao.
'I think we have to introduce more incentives for drug-tainted athletes to collaborate with investigators and extra punishment for those who do not co-operate. This kind of flexibility is simply not there at the moment.'
The Chinese Triathlon Association has promised to hold 'related sports officials and teams' accountable in Wang's case.
Zhao suggested an independent investigative body would better ensure the integrity of processes in such a task.
'The situation once again highlights the urgency for us to streamline our mechanisms,' said Zhao. 'After all, there is a possible issue of conflict of interest in the current practice.'
Chinese authorities announced earlier this year that an independent national anti-doping centre would be established to plug the gap, but no substantial plan has as yet been unveiled.
Beijing Olympic officials have been at great pains to assure the world its doping problems are a thing of the past after several scandals uncovered systematic doping in the 1990s.
With much prestige invested in next year's Olympics, China has repeatedly said it would rather win no gold medals than have one positive test.
Wang's ban would last until October 5, 2009, the ITU said, ruling her out of next year's Olympics.
Before her ban, Wang was ranked 28 in the world, the highest ranking ever for a Chinese triathlete.
Runner Sun is reportedly poised to return to competitive sports when her sanction expires next week.
She is expected to compete in the Beijing International Marathon on October 21.
