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Chief: Five athletes failed tests in 1988 Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia -- The head of the IOC's medical commission accused U.S. track and field officials of covering up five positive drug tests before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Prince Alexandre de Merode said Monday he didn't recall the names of the athletes, but that some may have won medals during the games. De Merode spoke hours before the IAAF confirmed that U.S. shot putter C.J. Hunter had tested positive for steroids. "If it's happening now, I'm really not surprised," de Merode said. "It's not the first time such a problem arises in the U.S. with the national athletic federation." He said that in 1988, five U.S. athletes tested positive before the Seoul Olympics "and were enlisted at the games. We learned this from the U.S. team doctor at the time. "The American national association didn't tell anyone, not even the lab," de Merode said. The U.S. Olympic Committee said the cases had been publicized 12 years ago and the athletes involved were cleared because they used the drug, ephedrine, accidentally. De Merode said he could not remember the names of the '88 athletes. "It's possible they were winners. I know it wasn't just anyone," he said. De Merode said the five athletes had failed out-of-competition tests and their samples were analyzed by the IOC-accredited laboratory in Los Angeles. "The tests were positive and they were not reported," de Merode said. "The athletes competed in the games. They were negative at the games." Asked whether he considered the 1988 incident to be a cover-up, he said, "Yes, certainly, by the U.S. federation." Craig Masback, executive director of USA Track and Field, responded by saying the cases cited by de Merode allegedly occurred a decade before he was working at USA Track and Field. "I have no idea whether it's true. I don't understand why he wouldn't have mentioned it before. I can't possibly comment on it," Masback said. The USOC, however, said those cases had been made public 12 years ago by Robert Voy, then head of the American committee's drug office. Pre-games samples in 1988 found eight track athletes with traces of Mahuang, a trade name for ephedrine, contained in a nutritional supplement called Super Charge, according to USOC spokesman Mike Moran. Ephedrine is a banned stimulant that is often found in nonprescription cold remedies. None of the athletes had prior drug positives, and all the positive results were overturned on appeal under provisions for allowable or accidental first-time use, Moran said. "There was no cover-up. There was no attempt to hide this," Moran said. "Since we adjudicated and found them innocent under our due-process rules, there was no reason to inform the IOC about it." Moran said Voy had made the tests public at a USOC media briefing before the Seoul Games and wrote about them in a later book on drugs in sports. "I did not disagree with the decision to excuse them," wrote Voy, a longtime critics of sports drug testing procedures. De Merode said the IOC has since changed procedures to require drug-testing laboratories to notify it -- and not just the international federation -- of all positive samples. Referring to the reports about Hunter, de Merode said, "What's happening today does not surprise me. I don't have the proof that it's happening today, but I'm not astonished." Masback also denied there has been any drug cover-up and defended the anti-doping record of the IAAF and USA Track and Field. "We set the standard for the rest of the sports world," he aid. "Far from being defensive, I'm proud. We have been a leader, and we've paid a price for being a leader." |  | ALSO SEE USA Track & Field rejects White House call for naming drug violators USA Track & Field, Hunter under fire for doping cover-ups IAAF confirms Hunter tested positive for steroids Marion still in news, but this time for wrong reasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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