Vancouver, Feb 12 (DPA) Russian ice-hockey player Svetlana Terenteva has been tested positive for a prohibited substance at the Vancouver Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
Terenteva has been reprimanded but not excluded from the Olympics in the first case of an anti-doping violation at the Vancouver Games, a day before the opening ceremony Friday.
Terenteva tested positive for a prohibited substance, described by IOC vice-president Thomas Bach as a “light stimulant.”
She admitted using Rhinofluimucil under prescription to cure a bad head cold in January. She stopped using it Feb 3 as she knew the substance would be prohibited during the drugs testing period of the Games starting a day later.
Bach said the substance was “usually not prohibited out of competition” and was contained in a nose spray. In view of the special circumstances of the case it was thought excluding the athlete would be too severe, he said.
Terenteva provided a urine sample for a doping control Feb 6 which indicated the presence of tuaminoheptane. The substance is prohibited in competition but not out of competition, the IOC said.
Meanwhile World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey said it had now become harder than ever for doping cheats to go undetected at Olympic Games.
But he refused to give details of “a significant number” of more than 30 athletes who would not be at the Games as a result of pre-Olympic doping controls.
“It is not our role. We never comment on any case until all avenues of appeal are finalised. To do so is outside our charter and is not in the interest of fair play,” he said.
WADA director general David Howman did however confirm to German Press Agency the list included the previously known cases involving the German speed skater Claudia Pechstein and recent positive tests involving Russian winter sport athletes.
Fahey said better methods, target testing, greater sharing of information and cooperation with the pharmaceuticals industry meant that the fight against doping was becoming more effective.
“It is more likely that athletes who seek to cheat will be caught than at any other Games in our history. Those who wish to take the risks are likely to be caught,” he said.
“We are far smarter than we were a year ago and I believe we will continue to improve there.”
In the Terenteva case, the IOC said its disciplinary commission had taken account of the fact that Russian team doctor had been aware she was taken the medicine and that it would be out of her system well before the date of her first competition Feb 14.
It was also a first violation by Terenteva who has taken part in four world championships since 2001.
The commission has, however, reminded the Russian National Olympic Committee that it should comply with doping rules and if necessary take steps to avoid similar cases, Bach said.
IOC president Jacques Rogge has already called on Russian authorities to take action on doping following 11 winter sport doping cases over the past year.
Rogge said Monday he had met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as well as the country’s minister of sport to highlight the IOC’s concerns ahead of the Vancouver Games.
The IOC plans to test more than 800 athletes before their competition. Some 2,000 doping controls are expected during the Games.
rounak