Romanian Competes After Drug Scandal

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 18, 2000 -- Four “clean” members ofRomania’s shamed weightlifting team were reinstated at theOlympics today after a bizarre day of confusion over policytowards the scourge of drugs in the sport.

After hours in which the fate of the weightlifters swungback and forth erratically, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) accepted a loophole in the sport’s rules allowing Romaniato pay a fine to cancel out a blanket ban.

This meant that, while two male weightlifters who faileddrugs tests remained barred, the squad’s remaining four memberswere freed to compete in the Games.

Within hours one of them — Marioara Munteanu — took partin the women’s 53 kg event. She finished eighth.

Fine Paid

The Romanians had been suspended Sunday under the InternationalWeightlifting Federation’s “three strikes and out” rule whichsanctions any team recording three positive tests in a calendaryear. In addition to the pair who tested positive in Sydney,another lifter failed a test earlier in the year.

But team officials said the country’s Olympic committee hadpaid the IWF a $50,000 fine to keep their four “clean” lifters— Munteanu and three men — in the competition.

“Yes,” head coach Niku Vlad said. “We paid it [the fine]because it was not fair that the other athletes should gohome.”

The IOC had said earlier that all the Romanian lifterswould have to leave the Games.

But the IOC’s stand-in boss, vice-president Dick Pound,said later it would not be intervening in the case, saying theeligibility of competitors was the responsibility of therelevant international sports federation.

Baumann Suspension Upheld

Meanwhile, track officials upheld the two-year suspension offormer Olympic 5,000-meter champion Dieter Baumann of Germany.

Baumann, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolonelast Oct. 19 and Nov. 12, had appealed, arguing that he was thevictim of a plot when traces of the drug were found in toothpastehe supposedly used.

Traian Ciharean, a bronze medalist at the Barcelona Olympics,and Adrian Mateas failed tests administered to all 257 Olympicweightlifters.

IWF rules dictate that if three athletes return positive dopingtests within 12 months, all lifters from that nation are bannedfrom international competition for a year.

Another Romanian lifter tested positive earlier this year.

Nine Olympians Suspended So Far

A total of nine Olympians have been suspended for drug use foundin pre-games tests, including six banned from the athletes’village, Schamasch said.

The village was off limits for a weightlifter from Taiwan, anIranian boxer, a swimmer from Kazakstan, a weightlifter from Norwayand the two weightlifters from Romania.

The other three, two Egyptian wrestlers and a wrestler fromMorocco, were suspended before they arrived at the village. Allwere the result of out-of-competition tests.

Since last April, when it started testing, WADA has caught 20athletes using banned drugs.

On Sunday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced thatthe Romanian weightlifters and an Iranian boxer had tested positivefor the steroid Nandrolone.

The International Amateur Boxing Federation identified theIranian fighter as Anoushirvan Nourian, who was entered in the139-pound class.

Most cases were resolved before the games, with athletes eitherbeing removed from their teams or failing to qualify for theOlympics, WADA spokesman Casey Wade said.

2,000 Tests Planned

At least four other weightlifters have been tossed out of theOlympics for failing pre-games drug tests: Stian Grimseth ofNorway, and Chen Po-pu, world champion Chen Jui-lien and Wu Mei-yiof Taiwan. Also sent home was Taiwan coach Tsai Wen-yee.

Schamasch said the fact that so many weightlifters had beencaught for out-of-competition doping offenses was proof theinternational federation was taking a strong stance against drugs.

WADA has conducted more than 2,043 urine tests involving 27summer sports in 82 nations prior to the games.

IOC medical teams already have conducted 291 urine tests and 189recently approved tests for EPO in Sydney, with no positive resultsso far, Schamasch said. Overall, the IOC expects to conduct 2,000in-competition tests during the 16-day games at an average cost of$600 per test.