Athletics: Sprinter fails test for nandrolone

A DUTCH sprinter has been withdrawn from the World Championships, which start in Seville tomorrow, after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.

The Dutch federation said Troy Douglas, who formerly competed for Bermuda, had failed a dope test, but the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world governing body, knew nothing of it.

Douglas is the latest in a series of athletes to test positive for nandrolone. On Wednesday, Jamaica's Merlene Ottey, who has won a record 14 world championships medals, withdrew from the championships after a positive test for nandrolone. Britain's 1992 Olympic 100 metres champion, Linford Christie, also tested positive for nandrolone at an indoor meeting in Germany last week.

The positive tests have overshadowed the Seville championships and yesterday the IAAF's president, Primo Nebiolo, urged people to ignore the drugs cases and concentrate on the competition in prospect. He said of the drugs furore: "We are here for the best championships we have ever had and we have two or three cases of athletes who could not win here. It's ridiculous."

Seville preview, page 21