Meat causes concern at meet

Associated Press

ROME

With more than 2,000 swimmers, divers and water polo players converging on Shanghai this week for the world championships, teams are taking precautions against the threat of contaminated Chinese meat.

Australia is shipping in all its meat from home and avoiding all pork products. Other teams plan to eat only in hotels accredited by swimming’s governing body.

Chemical additives have been linked to cattle and pig raising in China. A recent study by a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab in Cologne, Germany, found that 22 of 28 travelers returning from China tested positive for low levels of clenbuterol.

Clenbuterol is on WADA’s list of banned substances as an anabolic agent that builds muscle and burns fat, and athletes who test positive can face bans of up to two years.

The worlds, with diving starting Saturday and swimming on July 24, already face a doping issue. Cesar Cielo of Brazil might be allowed to defend his 50- and 100-meter freestyle titles despite testing positive for the banned substance furosemide. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is pending.

Alberto Contador tested positive for clenbuterol en route to winning last year’s Tour de France. He blamed contaminated meat, and the Spanish cycling federation accepted his explanation. He is awaiting a definitive ruling from the CAS.

“You cannot control everything you eat all around the world,” FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu said. “Probably the price is going to be to mostly consume at the hotel. But that doesn’t mean that outside the hotel it’s a problem.”

Still, Australia has decided to lodge its athletes at a hotel with an Australian general manager.

“All of our meat will come from Australia,” head coach Leigh Nugent said. “And we won’t be eating any pork products.”

USA Swimming normally provides food and protein sources for athletes at major competitions.

“This is provided outside of what is served at the venue and hotels in order to ensure the athletes have sufficient energy sources to perform at the optimal level,” said Stacy Michael-Miller, USA Swimming’s athlete services manager.

Cameron van der Burgh, the 50 breaststroke world record-holder from South Africa, is confident FINA and local organizers will make sure the food is safe.

“Obviously, the hotel we’ll be at in Shanghai will be catering for the athletes,” Van der Burgh said at a meet in Rome last month. “Maybe don’t go out to a local bar and eat some meat or something, which we don’t really do anyway when you’re racing because you want to prepare and stay in your room and rest.”