OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Drugs in Sport: It's that drug again

CLENBUTEROL, the most unlikely buzzword of the Games, continued to cast its shadow over Barcelona yesterday, when both the American hammer thrower, Jud Logan, and the coach of Katrin Krabbe, said they felt they had not been cheating when they used the drug.

Logan, whose third Olympics came to an abrupt end when he failed a drugs test after finishing fourth in the hammer, said he had used the drug, which had been 'recommended as a safe alternative to steroids', for five months beween October and February. 'All high-level athletes look for safe, legal vitamins and minerals to enhance performance,' he added.

A similar defence was mounted by Thomas Springstein, who may now face criminal charges for giving the drug to Krabbe. He admitted giving clenbuterol to the world sprint champion from 16 April as a 'stimulant' during periods of intensive training.

Professor Manfred Donike of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission, tried to clear up the confusion, saying clenbuterol could increase muscle mass by 30 per cent. 'The compound has an anabolic (bulk- building) effect even in small doses . . . anybody who knows about top-class sport knows what clenbuterol is,' Donike said.

The drug itself is not on the list of drugs banned by the IOC, but it is outlawed inside and outside competition as steroid-related.