Traditional Medicines @ Olympics 2008

Athletes will be able to use traditional Chinese medicines at next year's Olympics without risking positive dope tests if they take basic precautions, a Beijing organising committee (BOCOG) official said on Tuesday.

Dr. Dai Jianping, who state media quoted last week as saying traditional medicines would not be used, said all Chinese drugs were subject to the same regulatory standards as those from the West."There is no direct relation between Chinese traditional herbal medicine and doping," Dai, who is responsible for medical services at the Games, told reporters."It has been around for several thousand years and is very healthy for the body. Like Western medicines it can protect the body. It would be like saying vitamin C is a kind of doping."Dai said China's drug administration had to approve all traditional medicines and, as in other countries, the ingredients were analysed and listed on packaging."After the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces the banned list, we select those that can be used and those that can't," he said.

Chinese coach Ma Junren, whose long-distance runners broke several world records in the early 1990s, said his charges used traditional products such as turtle blood to help them achieve their fast times.