Bobsledders Facing Suspension--Report

As many as four members of the U.S. national bobsled team face suspension because of possible drug use, including the use of steroids, according to a published report.

Eight unnamed sledders have already failed a drug test, and the U.S. Bobsled Federation is waiting for results of a second sample before taking disciplinary action, according to Saturday’s Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times.

Should the samples come back positive, it would be the worst drug scandal in federation history. Federation Judiciary Committee Chairman John D. Cogar said told the Daily Times there is a 90% chance the second sample tests will be positive.

“If the tests come back positive, these athletes are done,” Cogar warned. “They’re done. They’re done for this year.”

Under U.S. Olympic Committee guidelines, any athlete testing positive for a banned substance is expelled from competition for at least 6 months. A second offense results in a suspension of at least 4 years, said federation Executive Director David E. Heim.

Heim said 35 members of the federation were tested last month while at the world team trials in Calgary, Canada. Of the first samples that tested positive, 3 were for anabolic steroids, 3 or 4 for pseudoephedrine, a cold remedy, and 1 for morphine, the newspaper reported.