Best drugs excuses of all time
Dwain Chambers yesterday gave the age-old excuse that he had not knowingly taken drugs. But here are some of the more imaginative explanations:
Beer & sex: DENNIS MITCHELL - the 1992 Olympic 100m bronze medalist was banned for two years after a test showed high levels of testosterone. He claimed the high levels of the substance were a result of having sex at least four times the night before and drinking five bottles of beer.
- Mum's the word: SHANE WARNE - the Aussie spinner tested positive for the drugs hydrochlorothiazide and amiloride, both diuretics normally used to aid temporary weight loss, during this year's Cricket World Cup. The drugs can also mask performance-enhancing drugs. He claimed it was a pill he borrowed from his mum to reduce the puffiness in his face.
- Passive smoking: ROSS REBAGLIATI - the Canadian snow-boarder failed a test for cannabis after he had won an Olympic gold medal. He said this was the result of passive smoking. Olympic officials accepted the story and gave his medal back because cannabis was not officially on the banned list.
- Drink spiked: MARK BOSNICH - Chelsea's goalkeeper failed a drugs test for cocaine; he claimed his drink had been spiked by a woman in a nightclub.
- Mystery plot: JAVIER SOTOMAYOR - Cuba's 1997 world champion high jumper was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for cocaine. Sotomayor said his sample was manipulated as part of a plot, and was backed by the Cuban Athletics Federation. The IAAF did not agree, and Sotomayor's ban ruled him out of the Sydney Olympics.
- Down the tube: DIETER BAUMANN - the former 5,000m Olympic champion was banned for two years after nandrolone was detected in his urine. Baumann claimed it had come from his tube of toothpaste, which had been injected with the steroid.
- Storm in a tea cup: LINFORD CHRISTIE - Britain's 1992 Olympic 100m champion failed a drug test at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, when traces of the stimulant pseudoephedrine were found. Christie explained the banned substance was contained in ginseng he was taking. He was officially given "the benefit of the doubt" after a 11-10 decision by the commission.
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