Norwegian sprinter Okeke faces life ban for doping

OSLO, Aug 5 (Reuters) Norwegian sprinter Aham Okeke faces a life ban from competition after being caught and then confessing to using the male sex hormone testosterone, anti-doping officials said today.

Okeke, a six-times Norwegian champion in the 100 metres, was caught with elevated levels of testosterone in an out-of-competition control in Gothenburg, Sweden, on July 7, a spokesman for Anti-Doping Norway said.

The 36-year-old Nigeria-born sprinter been due to run in the European championships in Gothenburg next week.

Okeke's positive is the third by a sprinter involving testosterone to be announced in the past eight days.

Last Saturday Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin admitted he had failed a test for testosterone and on Tuesday the Hungarian Athletics Association said Hungary's top sprinter Gabor Dobos had tested positive for the hormone.

A second sample provided by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis today also showed elevated levels of testosterone.

''The athlete confessed to the facts of the case,'' Andreas Hoistad, a special adviser at Anti-Doping Norway, told Reuters.

''At a press conference today, hosted by the Norwegian Olympic Committee, he gave an unconditional confession of having taken testosterone with the aim of a speedy recovery of from an injury he had earlier this summer,'' Hoistad said.

Okeke said he had received a prescription for the tablets from a doctor unaffiliated with Norwegian sports bodies, Hoistad added.

The final test results are awaited from a German laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. But Norwegian sports officials decided to make the announcement before the final results because of Okeke's confession, Hoistad said.

''The fact that the athlete immediately confessed and put all cards on the table is very positive,'' he said.

It was the third time that Okeke had been caught using a banned substance.

In the mid-1990s, he was banned for two and a half years for using testosterone and suspended for one month for taking the stimulant pseudoephedrine, Hoistad said.

''This infraction should result in life-time inelegibility,'' Hoistad said.

REUTERS AY KN1850