Chinese Takeaway of Melbourne TitlesChinese breaststroker Lou Xuejuan continued her rapid climb up the swimming rankings with victory in the women's 50 metres final at the Oceania leg of the FINA short-course World Cup Thursday, December 7.The 16-year-old glided to victory in 31.11 seconds to claim her third title in as many races at the three-day event and cap another successful night for Chinese swimming. Another Chinese woman, Wang Luna, finished second in the 200 freestyle in her first overseas appearance since serving a two-year ban. Wang, 20, was among four Chinese kicked out on the eve of the 1998 world championships for steroid offences. Her reappearance coincided with a FINA announcement it had broken new ground in the war against drugs by allowing Australian authorities to blood-test athletes during competition for the first time. Four swimmers, two men and two women, were asked to provide blood samples to the Australian Sports Drug Agency on Thursday in an unannounced swoop approved by FINA. |
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