e finish line only to carry on running while being chased for a sample.
The unexpected appearance of India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) at the Delhi State Athletics Championship also meant that several winners were absent on the podium on the final day of the championships for fear of being tested. The number of participants on the closing day fell by 50 per cent.
In the men’s 100m final, Lalit Kumar was the lone athlete in the starting blocks. The other seven sprinters, Kumar said, told him they were suffering from “cramps” or “muscle strain”.
The drug testers were alerted to the event after a video clip emerged from the day before showing a bathroom with piles of used syringes and empty packets of the performance-enhancing drug Erythropoietin (EPO) in the sinks.
In the junior steeplechase event, a girl continued to run even after crossing the finish line. A doping control officer had to chase her to get her sample.
For tens of thousands of athletes in India, obtaining a national team slot and winning medals can mean a route out of poverty and into government jobs that will give them lifetime financial security.
Last year, India’s parliament passed an anti-doping bill that gave powers to search and seize but did not incorporate calls for India to criminalise doping, including jail terms for coaches who supply drugs.
The World Anti-Doping Agency says it is working with the Indian agency to strengthen its anti-doping programs and improve testing of athletes.
Blimey … blatant drug use … 