Top athlete in 'drugs test shock'

A top British athlete has tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid THG, it was reported today.

The star, one of Britain’s main Olympic medal hopes, could be suspended or even banned for life if a second test also proves to be positive.

The news came a day after the International Association of Athletics Federations [IAAF] announced that it was retesting all 400 samples taken from competitors at the World Championships in Paris in August.

THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone, is a new “designer” steroid capable of passing undetected using old testing methods.

But a new test to detect THG has been formulated in the US and samples are being re-examined retrospectively, with up to 20 American track and field stars reported to have tested positive.

Michelle Verroken, UK Sport’s director of drug-free sport, wants the new screening method for THG to be brought in as soon as possible.

She said on Monday she believes the priority should be to test those British athletes who have worked at length in the US.

“We believe the detection method could be with us in a matter of days and then it’s a matter of focusing resources on the actual analysis of samples,” she said.

“Certainly we’re going to be targeting initially any athletes we know have been training or competing in the United States in case they’ve come into direct contact with this but certainly we want to protect those athletes in a high-risk sport where there is the possibility that drug misuse might actually pay dividends for them.

“We have certainly never underestimated the possibility that where there is money to be made that chemists, scientists will try and put together designer-type steroids and then sell them on to the athletes and wallow in their success under the influence of drugs.

“If they make money as athletes they can certainly then buy expensive designer steroids.”

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency yesterday called for the re-testing of samples from this summer’s World Athletics Championships following the discovery of a new designer drug.

Dick Pound has urged the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletic Federations, to act amid reports that up to 20 unnamed United States athletes, including Olympic champions and world record holders, could have tested positive for an anabolic steroid.

“I would think that the IAAF should be saying, ‘To the extent we still have some samples around we should analyse them and make sure it wasn’t being used at our championships’,” said Mr Pound.

The IAAF confirmed that once legal implications have been considered they would look into re-testing old samples.

“We are for transparency. We want a clean sport,” said IAAF general secretary Istvan Gyulai.

“This is a great opportunity. We don’t want to leave potential cheaters untouched.”

David Moorcroft, chief executive of UK Athletics, backed up the calls for re-testing, saying: “As long as the samples are safe and fresh, it is a good idea. They should test them all.

“Athletics is prepared to accept the consequences – even if they are sometimes bad for the image of the sport – because we are the most vigilant of sports when it comes to drug-testing.”

THG, which has a chemical structure similar to two proscribed anabolic steroids but has been modified to avoid detection, was undetectable by conventional methods until a few weeks ago.

It only came to light when a drugs whistleblower sent a syringe containing the substance to the independent United States Anti-Doping Agency which immediately re-tested hundreds of samples.

The president of UK Athletics Lynn Davies said it was a distressing situation but that cheats must be rooted out of the sport.

“Sadly, again, the perception of our sport is suffering,” he said.

“But I would rather have this out in the open. If athletes are found to have taken performance enhancing drugs then they should be banned for two years even if they are British although there has been no indication of that.

“I find it quite sad that the spotlight is again on athletics with only 40 weeks left to the Athens Olympics.

“There are so many good people in the sport and the people who take drugs are a minority but the positive we can take from this is that they will be found out.”