SINGAPORE — The withdrawal of reigning 200-metre breaststroke champion Nuttapong Ketin from the SEA Games after testing positive for a banned substance has been a major setback for Thailand at the start of the swimming competition.
Thailand chef de mission Thana Chaiprasit said on Saturday that Nuttapong, who carried the Thai flag into the opening ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics, was staying in Singapore awaiting the result of testing on the B sample taken last month by the World Anti-Doping Agency before the team left for the games.
Nuttapong withdrew from the 100- and 200-metre breaststroke and two individual medleys at the SEA Games, which opened on Friday, causing team officials to revise down medal expectations in the pool.
Thailand topped the medal count at the last SEA Games in 2013 and is again targeting top position.
Nuttapong, 22, denied deliberately using clenbuterol, and was quoted in Thai media as saying the banned substance must have been in a diet supplement.
"I confirmed that I did not intend to use any prohibited substance," he said, adding that he was shocked by the positive result because he was cautious about all medications and supplements.
The result of the B sample could be returned as early as next week, with Nuttapong facing a lengthy ban if it confirms the initial adverse finding.
Athletes across a range of sports have claimed they inadvertently ingested clenbuterol from contaminated food or from asthma medication.
Former cycling world time trial champion Michael Rogers had a provisional suspension overturned last year when he convinced the international cycling union that there was there was a significant probability that the presence of clenbuterol may have resulted from the consumption of contaminated meat from China.
In October 2013, Rogers raced in China, where clenbuterol is widely administered to livestock to build muscle and reduce fat. He tested positive days later at the Japan Cup.
Alberto Contador, who was stripped of the 2010 Tour de France title and served a two-year ban after testing positive for clenbuterol, unsuccessfully argued that he'd eaten a contaminated steak bought in Spain.