(First Edition)

CHINA banned one of its swimmers for two years for doping yesterday, and stripped her of three gold medals she won at the recent Goodwill Games in Russia.

Ren Xin, from the northern port city of Tianjin, is the second Chinese swimmer to be banned this year.

Her urine sample in St Petersburg had been found to contain high levels of testosterone and epitestosterone, a spokesman for the Chinese Swimming Association said. In February, Zhong Weiyue was banned for two years for drug use after setting world short-course records for the 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly.

China's sports minister, Wu Shaozu, announced plans for an anti-doping education programme in April, saying that sportsmen and women coveted fame and fortune more than they feared being caught for using performance-enhancing drugs. Wu said he was appalled by the number of top Chinese athletes caught relying on banned substances.