Athletics: Drugs failure cause championship embarrassment

Canada's hosting of the World Championships turned into an embarrassment

after one of their 100 metres sprinters became the first athlete to fail a

drugs test.

Venolyn Clarke tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol

during the Canadian's pre-championships camp in Calgary, it was revealed

in Edmonton.

The drug is the same one that caused the downfall of Canadian sprinter Ben

Johnson after he had won the Olympic 100 metres final in Seoul in 1998.

Clarke, who like Johnson was born in Jamaica, had failed to qualify from

the heats yesterday having won her national championships.

The 34-year-old from Oshawa in Ontario had made remarkable progress

recently but had put that down to a revolutionary new programme that

featured eastern philosophy and western medication.