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Thorpe Rapped by Swimming Governing Body Over
Drug Comments
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Swimming's governing body
said it ``strongly condemns'' three-time Olympic
champion Ian Thorpe's assertion that some of his
opponents at next month's Athens Games will have
taken performance-enhancing drugs.
In
an interview with Australia's Channel Seven on
Tuesday, the 21-year-old Thorpe said it would
be ``naive for anyone to think that they're swimming
at a clean Olympic Games.'' Thorpe also said he'd
``swum against doped athletes.''
The
Federation Internationale de Natation, or FINA,
said Thorpe shouldn't accuse fellow competitors
without proof. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based
organization said it has been at the forefront
of the fight against drugs in sport.
``It
is not acceptable that all swimmers, including
Thorpe's teammates, participating at the Olympic
Games are accused without any sustainable evidence
that they may have been on drugs,'' the governing
body said in a statement on its Web site.
Thorpe,
who swum nine of the 10 fastest times in the 400
meters freestyle, won three gold medals at the
Sydney Olympics in 2000. Australia is sending
42 swimmers to Athens.
Janet
Evans, a four-time Olympic champion and now chairman
of FINA's athletes' commission, said the governing
body is doing everything it can to ensure swimmers
are clean during the Aug. 13- 29 Games. The swimming
competition starts Aug. 14.
``I
disagree with his claim,'' Evans said in the statement.
``I sincerely think that swimming is a clean sport.''
To
contact the editor responsible for this story:
Grant Clark in Singapore at gclark@bloomberg.net
Last
Updated: July 28, 2004 21:04 EDT
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