Aussie Coach Blasts FINA Proposal
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Australian swim coach Forbes Carlile, an outspoken critic of China’s great leap forward in the pool, criticized a FINA proposal to test everyone competing at next year’s World Championships. Carlile said that performing tests on all swimmers at the championships in Perth was a bad idea because it gave them a chance to benefit from steroid use and then get the drugs out of their systems. FINA director Cornel Marculescu said the plan to test all 1,000 swimmers when they were being accredited for the championships was being considered. Carlile has been at the forefront of calls for FINA to introduce twice-a-week drug testing for Chinese swimmers between now and the January 8 championships after suspicious performances at the Chinese National Games. Marculescu said FINA had no plans to target China for any additional tests despite the Australian outcry. With each drug test costing an estimated $300, the doping control bill from the meet would be close to $375,000.