Kenya's athletics body refutes doping claims

 　　NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Athletics¹ Kenya (AK) on Wednesday came out in strong defence of the country's distance runners who were accused on German television of employing blood doping to enhance their performances.

　　In a development that has caused a stir in Kenyan athletics circles sports journalist Hajo Seppelt claimed in his Saturday show on German national television, ARD, that doping was widespread among Kenyan athletes have uncovered the damning information in the country when he posed as an undercover agent.

　　"We in AK are not aware of any athlete who has used drugs that has been found to have used drugs and those who have, they have been punished in accordance with IAAF rules and this has been made public. We have never hidden anything," AK chairman Isaiah Kiplagat told journalists in Nairobi.

　　Kiplagat noted² that the timing³ of the revelations was peculiar⁴ as the country prepares her runners for the London Olympics adding that the story was purposely aimed at demoralizing the athletes.

　　"This depicts⁵ Kenya as a country where athletes use enhancing drugs to win their races. It is my hope that this story will not affect and cause panic among our athletes since there is nothing that is true in it," he said.

　　The chairman, however, said the federation⁶ had launched an inquiry⁷ into the claims as they called on Seppelt and anyone else with information pertaining⁸ to the charges to present it to the relevant authorities for action.

　　"We are requesting this journalist to come forward and present the information because by doing so, it will help AK, IAAF and all those concerned with athletics including the IOC.

　　"The report said that some clinics here in Nairobi are supplying the drugs and other things and we are doing our own investigations⁹ and we shall provide the details when they are complete," he said.

　　The chairman stressed that the federation would not present any athlete to the National Olympics Committee-Kenya (Nock) for entry to the London Olympics if they have not been subjected to rigorous drug testing.

　　"I believe 99 percent of our runners are clean and we have been having officials come to our training camps to test our athletes every now and then and I can only call this report as defamation¹⁰ of the character of our runners," Kiplagat said.

　　The AK chairman also announced stringent¹¹ controls to be put in place for foreign media personnel wishing to interview or film Kenyan runners.

　　"We have written to the Ministry¹² of Information asking them to allow us to clear any journalist from outside wishing to speak to our runners," he said.

　　"We have also asked the Ministry of Immigration to also give AK the duty to clear foreigners who come to work with our athletes since some have been in the country on tourist visas for over 10 years."

　　He disclosed that thus far, the Kenyan government had deported¹³ one and two other foreign workers with local athletes who had fled by their own accord.

　　Nock chairman Kipchoge Keino echoed Kiplagat's condemnation¹⁴ of the story saying his body was in constant touch with anti-doping agencies seeking to test Kenyan runners out of competition.

　　Citing that Asbel Kiprop was awarded the men 1,500m gold medal after Bahrain runner Rashid Ramzy tested positive for banned substances at the last Olympics in Beijing, Kipchoge assured that Kenya would not send anyone to London on substance abuse.

　　"There are more than 5,000 out of competition tests carried out by the IOC and many of these are here in Kenya and so far we have not heard anyone being accused and I'm sure our youth win cleanly.

　　"I'm asking these agencies to visit the country during our nationals and trials and see for themselves that we are not ready to take anyone on drugs. We learned our lesson during the 2004 Olympics when two of our boxers¹⁵ were sent home for chewing Miraa (stimulant Chata Edulis)," he said.

1 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

5 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

11 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

15 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》