FINA to Test for THG from Barcelona

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 29. IN a brief statement this morning, FINA — swimming's international governing body — announced it is considering testing urine samples from the Barcelona World Championships for the presence of the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).

What needs to happen now is for FINA to turn that indecision into action. Doing so will hardly put FINA out on a limb. Even the National Football League has announced it will test for THG, though the penalties articulated in the NFL's "zero tolerance" policy are laughable: a 4-game suspension for a first offense, six games for a second offense, a season for a third offense.

FINA issued the following statement: "FINA continues to study with its experts the evolution of tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).

"Moreover, FINA is checking the availability of the IOC/WADA Laboratory in Barcelona to perform the THG analysis.

"If the conclusion of the FINA experts will lead to the necessity of conducting tests for THG, FINA will proceed analysing samples from the 10th FINA World Championships held last July in Barcelona (ESP)."

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