Americans join positive drug test list

Dwain Chambers has been joined by two more Americans to have tested positive for the new designer drug which is rocking athletics.

Regina Jacobs, who beat Britain’s Kelly Holmes to 1500metres gold at this year’s world indoor championships in Birmingham, and hammer thrower John McEwen are the latest athletes to be named in the drugs scandal.

The duo join countryman Kevin Toth, leaving just one unnamed athlete of the five who have been confirmed so far to have tested positive for the anabolic steroid THG (tetrahydrogestrinone).

Holmes, currently in South Africa, stands little chance of being awarded the gold medal from the world indoors because all samples from the championships have been destroyed.

Jacobs would have been tested after her victory, but anti-doping officials were unaware THG was in existence last March.

The 40-year-old is named as a client of the California-based nutritionist Victor Conte whom Chambers has blamed for the positive test which leaves the European 100m champion facing a two-year ban that will wreck his Olympic dreams.

Jacobs had raised eyebrows earlier this year when she broke the 13-year-old world indoor record for the 1500m despite her age, becoming the first woman to break four minutes in the process.

The Californian failed to reach the final at the outdoor world championships in Paris last March, while McEwen did not even qualify for the American team.

The pair now face life bans and $110,000 (€93,000) fines as part of the zero tolerance policy announced this week by USA Track & Field in response to the drug crisis.

Chambers, who denies knowingly taking the drug, and the four Americans are awaiting the results of the ’B’ sample which in virtually every case confirms the result of the initial test.

Paula Radcliffe, Britain’s leading anti-drug campaigner on the track, has added her voice to calls that any athlete found guilty of taking THG should be banned for life rather than for two years.

“By using it, they have been cheating the system and have been guilty of deliberate fraud,” said Radcliffe, in her newspaper column.

“They’ve robbed people of championship places and cheated on their fellow competitors.

“Anyone who is found guilty of using THG should be banned for life. The scandal over THG may be the best thing that could have happened to athletics. The cheats are being uncovered and they now have nowhere to hide.

“Next year’s Olympics may be missing some big names. But Athens could well be the cleanest Games for years, so ultimately there is a lot of reason for hope.

“I also wholeheartedly back the call for more people to become whistle-blowers. I would even like to see more private investigators put on the trail of anyone under suspicion.”