China's hammer thrower shocked at doping result, insists on innocence

China's Zhang Wenxiu said on Friday that she was shocked at a positive doping result that denied her Asian Games gold medal.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced Friday afternoon that the Chinese has been stripped of the women's hammer throw gold medal after failing a pre-competition drug test.

In an email sent to Xinhua News Agency, Zhang said, "I have been notified by the Inchean Asian Games organizing committee of a positive doping test done on me on Sept. 26. I am shocked, and I cannot accept it."

A sample taken from Zhang two days before she won the title with 77.33 meters, was found to contain the banned substances Zeranol and its metabolite, the OCA said in a statement. Zeranol is approved for use as a growth promoter in livestock.

"The competitor has been disqualified from the competition as well as these Games and as such her accreditation canceled, and gold medal was withdrawn," said the OCA statement.

Zhang, 28, became the first Chinese athlete caught doping in major sporting events since the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, where a number of positive cases involving Chinese swimmers were reported.

"As a veteran athlete, I have been receiving anti-doping education for many years and strictly abiding by the anti-doping rules," said Zhang.

"As an athlete who has been competing in numerous competitions over 15 years, I have been tested over a hundred times and have never had doping problems.

"I have never taken banned substance and I don't know why banned substances surfaced in my sample. As an athlete, I regret bringing negative influence to the Chinese sports delegation and the Chinese Athletics Association for whatever reasons."

Zhang added she would cooperate with investigators who are looking into the positive test.

"I will vindicate my rights and cooperate with all the concerned organizations to find out the truth and clear my name," she said.

The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) said that although the cause of Zhang's positive result is unknown yet, they fully respect the OCA's decision.

"The athlete may dope deliberately, but there also remain the possibilities that the positive reading was due to her consumption of contaminated meat," the COC said in a statement.

"Whatever the cause is, we respect the OCA's decision regarding Zhang's case, because the World Anti-Doping Code stipulates that athletes must bear the subsequences for the substance found in his or her body," added the COC.

So far six athletes have failed doping tests at the Incheon Games and been expelled since it opened. The OCA said that a record 1,900 athletes out of some 9,500 would undergo drug tests in Incheon.

China has been very tough in rooting out drug cheats since the late 1990s with an increasing number of drug tests, a massive education program as well as severe punishment on doping offenders.

According to the Chinese Olympic Committee, more than 10,000 drug tests were conducted on Chinese athletes each year over the past decade and the positive rate is just 0.02 percent, one of the lowest countries in the world.

Last month, WADA President Craig Reedie spoke highly of China's efforts in the fight against doping in sport, saying the country's anti-doping agency is one of the most "effective" organizations. His predecessor John Fahey also hailed China a role model in the anti-doping drive.