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Drugs company to supply 'clean' drinks
Stephen Bierley in Houston Wednesday November 17, 2004 The Guardian The ATP, the ruling body of men's tennis, said yesterday that it had entered into a partnership with the drugs company GlaxoSmithKline to supply contaminant-free electrolyte drinks and energy bars to its players by the start of the Australian Open in January. But the vexed question of mineral and vitamin supplements has yet to be resolved. Greg Rusedski and the Czech Republic's Bohdan Ulihrach, and another "secret six" players, tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone between 2002 and last year but all were subsequently cleared. This followed a legal wrangle concerning the possibility that the drug had entered the players' bodies via supplements handed out by the ATP trainers. A further 50 players, in total a ninth of those tested, displayed raised levels of nandrolone, although not enough to fail a drugs test. However, the source remains a complete mystery. This year Mark Miles, the chief executive of the ATP, admitted there had been no conclusive proof that supplements were the cause. "There was substantial circumstantial evidence and the anti-doping panels concluded that that was the best explanation so far," he said. The deal with GlaxoSmith-Kline is a small step forward. The products available will be Lucozade drinks, a gel and an energy bar, all of which are available to the general public, but the packaging for the players will be slightly different and the contamination-free element guaranteed. Meanwhile the ATP remains in negotiation with a major pharmaceutical company for vitamin and mineral supplements, something that concerns the players the most. "The negotiations are ongoing," an ATP spokesman said yesterday.
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