Commonwealth Games

Whitlock gives up Manchester

Janine Whitlock has withdrawn from England's team for the Commonwealth Games after she tested positive for Dianabol.

"From the initial evidence that has been provided to my advisers, it appears that a doping offence has been committed in accordance with UK Athletics rules," the British pole vault record holder said.

UK Athletics is expected to suspend Whitlock next Tuesday. There will then be a full hearing, where she will have the opportunity to present her evidence, which is believed to be that she is the victim of sabotage by someone close to her.

"I am morally innocent," said Whitlock. "I intend to co-operate fully with both UK Athletics and the IAAF to explain why the initial findings indicated this most obvious of anabolic steroids."

Australia's Olympic and world swimming champion Ian Thorpe has expressed his disappointment that there will be no blood tests for EPO in Manchester. The organisers have instead decided to concentrate their resources on urine tests, which cannot detect the blood-boosting drug.

"Once you introduce tests it's disappointing that it's not going to be used at every opportunity," he said. "If it was used in competition you might catch one athlete and that's enough to justify its inclusion."

Thorpe will fly to Europe this weekend, along with the other swimmers in Australia's 41-strong team. The team will spend eight days in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart in Germany, before flying into Manchester on July 28.

They will wear special masks known as humidiflyers during their flight in an attempt to stop them suffering jet-lag.

"When you're on a plane, you're breathing in a really dry environment and you dehydrate very quickly," Australia's swimming high-performance director Greg Hodge explained. "The mask captures the vapour that's normally lost in the air when you breathe, so you are breathing back in your own moisture basically.

"The more they wear them on the flight, the better they will be at the other end."

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