Eight Chinese Athletes Banned

Eight Chinese athletes have been banned after being testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs during a crackdown ahead of the Beijing Olympics, state press reported on Wednesday.

Two of the athletes were with China's national team, including wrestler Luo Meng and men's swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng, whose lifetime ban was announced last week, the Titan Sports Weekly said.

Two coaches were also barred for life, including Ouyang's coach Feng Shangbao and Luo's trainer, who was not named, the paper said.

Six other athletes at the provincial level -- two divers, two track and field athletes, a weightlifter and a swimmer -- have also tested positive for prohibited substances, it said.

The positive results turned up amid 5,000 drug tests administered by China since January, the paper said.

The six provincial athletes were banned from taking part in China's National Games next year, it said.

Luo tested positive for using a banned diuretic. Diuretics are weight-loss substances which are sometimes used to mask performance-enhancing drugs.

Ouyang tested positive for clenbuterol, an anabolic steroid.

Only two of the other drug cheats were named, Zhang Jun and Gao Lin, both of the Hebei provincial diving team in northern China.

News Courtsey: AFP News