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| Tuesday, July 24 |
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| Thrope rips swimming's governing body Associated Press | |||
FUKUOKA, Japan -- Ian Thorpe launched an
astonishing attack on swimming's world governing body on
Tuesday, accusing FINA of not doing enough in the war against
drugs.
The Australian teenager abandoned his normal diplomatic
approach to say he believed the sport was not drug-free and
never would be while FINA was in charge.
"A lot of things that FINA do disappoint me and one of those
is the lack of tests they carry out," Thorpe told a news
conference on Tuesday after breaking his own world record to win
the 800 meters freestyle title at the world championships.
"From an outsider's point of view, it doesn't look good.
There is no deterrent."
Asked whether swimming was clean, Thorpe replied: "It's not
at the moment and I don't know if it ever will be."
Earlier on Tuesday, one of swimming's top doping experts
questioned the reliability of tests used to detect
erythropoietin (EPO), one of the most dangerous banned drugs in
sport.
FINA has come under fire for deciding not to test for EPO at
the world championships in Japan when other major sports
federations, including the International Amateur Athletic
Federation (IAAF), have announced they will.
But the chairman of FINA's Doping Control Review Board,
Andrew Pipe said the tests were still unreliable and doubted
whether they would stand up in a court of law.
"Any test that is applied has to survive a legal challenge,"
Pipe said on Tuesday. "And the technology currently being used
is still in its infancy."
Meanwhile Thorpe has also criticized FINA over its decision
not to include the 800 meters in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Although the final decision rests with the IOC, FINA announced
last week that it would not recommend the 800 be added to the
programme.
"Every time FINA makes a decision, it's usually not in the
best interests of the swimmers," Thorpe said.
"This just makes you question why you try and get the best
out of yourself right across the board...and why you do all
those long hours of training."
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ALSO SEE Thorpe swims to second world record in Japan Russian swimmer sets world record in 100 breaststroke Thorpe betters own 400 free world record | |
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