Olympic Athletes Test Positive for Nandrolone

PARIS--In the latest incident involving nandrolone, American C.J. Hunter, the shotput world champion and husband of Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones, tested positive for the banned substance. In a statement released Sept. 25, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), track's governing body, confirmed that Hunter failed the drug test but did not say when or where the test was conducted.

Hunter did not compete in Sydney due to knee surgery. If the IAAF does find him guilty of using steroids, he would face a two-year suspension. In a statement given to NBC, Hunter said he is aware of the allegations and would vigorously defend himself. His nutritionist, Victor Conte, said in a press conference that a possibly contaminated iron supplement could have been the cause.

Even before the Olympics were underway, positive tests for nandrolone were already in the news. Former Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie and fellow British athletes Doug Walker and Gary Cadogan are banned from competing for two years after testing positive for nandrolone.

UK Athletics based its ruling on a study conducted by Aberdeen University. Scientists found that dietary supplements [which may not contain prohibited substances] combined with vigorous exercise may cause a high concentration of nandrolone metabolites in body fluids. IAAF regulations state that a banned substance found in an athlete's body is still unacceptable, no matter how it got there.

AnthonyAlmada, the chief scientific officer at IMAGINutrition, a natural product research company, recommended that Olympian -caliber athletes need to stay away from supplements withnorandrostenedione. However, some supplements do not list all ingredients, and norandrostenedione may be one of them. "It is utter stupidity to not be thoroughly informed about what [athletes] are putting in their bodies," Almada said. For more information, www.iaaf.org.