Sport

White: Drug makers are far ahead of the testers

Kelli White - file

OSLO, (REUTERS)

UNITED STATES SPRINTER KELLI White, stripped of two world championship golds after admitting doping, believes drug-makers are far ahead of the testers and doubts that stiffer bans would deter athletes from taking prohibited substances.

White hopes to return to competition next year after a ban for her drug-assisted wins in the 100 and 200 metres in 2003. Guilt had started gnawing at her the moment she hit the tape and she felt she had betrayed her friends and family.

"Once I crossed the finish line at the 200 I knew that ... something wasn't right," she said.

"It didn't feel good. I should have been happy, I should have been doing a victory lap but I couldn't. I just had so much guilt."

Balco client

White, 28, is cooperating with a U.S. investigation into the Bay Area Lab Cooperative (Balco) in California which she said supplied her with drugs. Balco listed a string of other sportsmen and women among its drug clients.

"The drug-makers are very far ahead of the drug testers and that's where the real issue lies," she told a news conference yesterday during a conference in Oslo on drug abuse in sport.

White had a lawyer at her side who told her not to answer any questions that might implicate others.

White was suspended for two years on May 16, 2004, after admitting use of drugs including THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone) and the blood booster EPO. She said lifetime bans were not the answer.

"I think a lifetime ban is very harsh, I think it's too harsh. There are strong penalties. I wouldn't say 'increase that' at all ... I've learned my lesson thoroughly.

"I believe I can be made an example of what not to do."

She urged more publicity when athletes were caught to warn off others.

"I know that there are other cases that have gone forward where athletes have been suspended but we don't hear those things. It makes it seem as if there's nothing going on out there, like there's nobody being caught."

Banned substance

White said she unwittingly received a first batch of drugs shortly after she turned professional in 2000 after a meeting set up by her coach.
She said she was told it was flaxseed oil -- it was actually THG. She stopped taking it as soon as she found it was a banned substance and went back to training as usual.

"I struggled with difficulties in 2002, injuries. In March 2003, I failed to make the (U.S.) world indoor team and received even more pressure to enter a drug programme," she said.

"In March 2003, I made the choice I will regret for ever," she said.

"I began using these drugs not to get an advantage but because I became convinced I needed them to level the playing field with my competitors."

"In a relatively short period of time, I went from being a very competitive sprinter to being the fastest woman in the world," she said. In the four months before the Paris world championships in August 2003, she passed 17 drug tests.

At the time, she explained her lack of joy at winning gold at the world championships by saying she was tired after all the qualifying races.

She said yesterday the drugs brought side effects, including high blood pressure, acne and a faster menstrual cycle.

Asked what her happiest moment in sport was, she said: "I don't think it's happened yet. It'll come when I get back to competition and compete as a clean athlete."