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Campbell banned for a year
LONDON, Sept 9 (AFP) - Cyclist Neil Campbell, short-listed for the Olympic squad but not selected for the final British team, was banned for a year Saturday after being found guilty of a doping offence. Campbell was also fined 4,000 Swiss Francs (2,240 dollars). He is now suspended from competition, coaching and officiating until August 24 2001. The cyclist tested positive at a World Cup track meeting in Turin on July 13 and at the British Championships on July 29, with both samples showing higher concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) than permitted. He had been flown home from the Olympic training camp in Australia for urgent medical tests because the presence of HCG, not normally detectable in healthy males, can suggest the presence of malignant disease - most commonly testicular cancer. Campbell was asked to account for the findings at a disciplinary hearing, after which he was found guilty of a breach of British Cycling Federation and international anti-doping regulations. BCF president Brian Cookson, whose organisation took into account that this was Campbell's first offence, said: "While this finding is extremely disappointing, the BCF remain convinced the sport of cycling is leading the battle against doping in sport. "Cycling has the most stringent testing procedures, including blood testing and regular health screening, and as a consequence has a track record of catching those who attempt to gain an unfair advantage. "The message from this to all athletes must be: if you cheat you will get caught." The sprint rider was among a number of athletes confirmed as having tested positive for a banned substance in worldwide out-of-competition controls before the Olympics in Sydney. World Anti-Doping Agency secretary general Harry Salvasamy revealed that 10 or 11 cases have been reported to date since the organisation began conducting unannounced tests in April as part of a new effort to weed out drug cheats. The world agency was set up by the International Olympic Committee earlier this year to co-ordinate a global system of no-notice out-of-competition testing, considered the most effective way of catching drug users. Salvasamy said 1,811 tests have been carried out so far, with a total of more than 2,000 to be completed by the time the Games open on September 15. While the IOC will control drug testing during the Olympics, the world agency will assign 15 independent observers to monitor the procedures.
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