Yegorova's suspension lifted

By Our Special Correspondent

EDMONTON, AUG 5. The Olga Yegorova doping case took yet another interesting twist with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) lifting its suspension on the Russian runner on Saturday.

The suspension was lifted following information from the French authorities and the Spanish laboratory that Yegorova was tested for EPO (erythropoietin) with her urine sample. Such a procedure was against the accepted protocol and as such the case would not have stood legal scrutiny.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had approved only a combination of blood and urine testing for detecting EPO. Under this protocol, the blood sample was tested first and if there was an indication of EPO then a urine sample was tested for final confirmation.

Having found out that there was a grave procedural irregularity, the IAAF has called off the second round of testing of her urine sample. ``It came as a great surprise to us that the only test conducted was on urine sample and that is against protocol,'' said the IAAF Medical Commission Chairman, Prof. Arne Ljungqvist.

Initially, the IAAF announced that there was a technical problem with the testing carried out on the `B' sample without letting know whether the B sample was blood or urine. Now it transpires that there never was a blood sample in the case of Yegorova in the Paris Golden League meet.

With Romanian Gabriela Szabo threatening to pull out of the championships, if Yegorova was allowed to compete, the situation has taken an interesting stage.

``Szabo is a very emotional person'', said the IAAF Secretary- General, Mr, Istvan Gyulai. He said he had a talk with Szabo's agent, Mr. Jose Hermens and explained the situation.

Yegorova might still find herself under suspension if the test carried out by the IAAF under its own EPO-testing programme, after the Paris meeting, turns out to be positive.

``Testing for EPO was first conducted at a major championships last year at the Olympics where athletes were asked to provide samples of both blood and urine. The Sydney protocol involved a screening of the blood sample to provide an indication of whether EPO was present in the athlete's body and this was then confirmed by a follow-up urine analysis,'' said an IAAF statement.

``At this time it remains the only means of testing for EPO that has been scientifically validated. Since Sydney, further scientific research has been undertaken to finalise a single `urine only' test. The research is believed to be complete but the IAAF has been informed that the test still awaits final validation.

``The IAAF believes that, in the circumstances, the test conducted by the French authorities on Ms Yegorova in Paris should not have been carried out,'' the statement further added.

Suspicious wind-readings cancelled

The IAAF on Saturday anulled a set of wind-readings taken during the men's 100m quarterfinals after they were found to be rather `suspicious' in the prevailing conditions.

Headwinds were shown while tailwinds might have been evident, but more than anything else what baffled many was that readings showed something like minus 5.1 (in the case of Maurice Greene's 9.88s) which was unbelievable.

In whichever direction one perceived the wind to be moving, there never was something like 5.1m/s wind-speed throughout the day. The IAAF issued the following statement after an enquiry: ``This afternoon, a malfunction of the wind gauge resulted in some unusual readings during the five quarterfinal heats of the men's 100m and also during the three heats of the women's heptathlon 200m.

``After reviewing the device and the accompanying data, Brian Roe, the IAAF Technical Officer, has discovered that this was a temporary malfunction. It has since been corrected.

The worst sufferer in this embarrassing episode for the IAAF was Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis of Britain who clocked a world junior record of 9.97s while winning his heat. Now, that record will not be approved. Another Briton, Dwain Chambers clocked a personal best of 9.97s. In Lewis-Francis case the wind was minus 2.9 while in the other it was minus 2.8.

The IAAF stated that the times recorded during these events would be accompanied by the designation ``no wind information'. It further stated that in the absence of a correct wind-reading, any and all records achieved in these races would not stand.

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