Electronic Telegraph Sunday 17 September 2000 Owen Slot ALL the leading countries in the Olympic Games have systems in place to help their athletes dodge the drug-testing process, claims Werner Reiterer, Australia's former Commonwealth discus champion. Reiterer has become a thorn in the side of Australian athletics by publishing a book, Positive, in which he reveals his own decision to take performance-enhancing drugs and makes allegations that there is widespread doping in the Australian team and that Australian officials are part of a cover-up. In speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Reiterer now claims that such a system operates globally. "I'm positive that in each of the major countries, there'll be some sort of in-house system to protect the athletes and to monitor those who are taking something and make sure they're doing it the right way," he said. "Once you know how the system works, it's so easy to bypass it. The athletes that will be caught here at the Olympics will be from the countries that don't have the technology and the latest drugs. There was that Asian weightlifter that got caught, but you'd have to be stupid to test positive for a steroid." Reiterer says that, despite his exposé, the Australian team are still using banned substances. "I couldn't put a figure on how many of them," he said, "but it would be naive to say there are elements that weren't. But that goes for all the major countries." That includes Britain, he says. "When we are dealing with athletes whose whole lives revolve around these Olympics, how can they not consider it?" Reiterer will not be in Sydney for the Olympics. Not surprisingly, his book has not endeared him to the Olympic administrators. "The main reason they weren't happy is because it put a lot of focus on the current athletes," he said. "I've still had no athlete say what I wrote was wrong. I also still insist that no athlete wants to take drugs because it's dangerous and its unnatural. But unfortunately, with the amount of money around and to be competitive, you have to think seriously about it." Reiterer casts further doubt on the effectiveness of the system. "I would like to think that anyone who tests positive at these Games will be punished for it," he said, "but you can't be sure. And we already know that, although a lot of testing is being done, a lot of athletes can't be found and no one seems to know where they are so they can't be tested. "I think the IOC are taking some steps towards improvement but they are just PR moves. We still haven't really addressed the problem, that there are 60 or 70 drugs that are still not tested for yet." Eamonn Condon WWW.RunnersGoal.com
