China's judo champion blames pork chops for positive drugs test

The coach of China's Olympic judo champion Tong Wen has blamed pork chops for her positive test for the banned substance Clenbuterol. Tong, the 78kg category winner in Beijing, has been banned for two years and stripped of her 2009 world title.

But her coach Wu Weifeng believes China's food safety problems were responsible for the positive test. "She trained in Europe and was sick of the food so we gave her a lot of pork chops when she came home," said Wu.



Clenbuterol is used to prevent animals like pigs getting fat, but has been used illegally by athletes to build up muscle.

Tong's test is the first positive test by a Chinese Olympic champion but China's top backstroke swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng also blamed pork for his failed test for Clenbuterol before the Beijing Olympics. He was banned for life despite claiming he had eaten too much roast pork while at a barbecue with friends before the test.