BEIJING_ A Chinese long-distance runner who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs has registered for a marathon this weekend in what would be her first race after a two-year suspension, a race official said Wednesday.
Sun Yingjie, who won bronze in the 10,000 meters at the 2003 Paris World Championships, failed a urine test for the testosterone derivative androsterone at the Chinese National Games in 2005. Her two-year ban was upheld despite a civil court's ruling that another athlete spiked her drink with the drug.
She has registered for the Xiamen International Marathon on Saturday in East China, said an official in the race's competition department, surnamed Chen, who refused to give her full name. Chen said she didn't know if Sun planned to race.
A recent report by the Xinhua News Agency quoted coach Tao Shaoming as saying Sun was looking forward to her first race but her conditioning level was not good enough to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
