A recent doping scandal in Italy involved two-time Olympic gold medallist Agostino Abbagnale. A story implicating Abbagnale and several other Sydney gold medallists appeared in the Italian paper Corriere della Serra. The paper reported that Italian athletes had tested positive for growth hormone (GH) in pre-Olympic tests, but were allowed to participate in the Sydney Games anyway.

To attempt to get to the bottom of the story, The Independent Rowing News's correspondent Marco Bovo spoke with Italian Rowing Federation Technical Director Dr. Giuseppe la Mura about the scandal.

A full transcript of the interview will appear in the next issue of IRN.

IRN: First I want to congratulate you for your success at the Olympic Games. The team proved to be very well prepared.

Dr. Giuseppe la Mura: Thank you very much. It is nice to be complimented once in a while. Lately people only call to talk about this stupid scandal.

IRN: Unfortunately, I will be no exception. The main reason I am calling is because news of the scandal has reached the U.S. and the people would like to know more about it. I hope you do not mind?

GLM: No I don't. Actually I am happy to clarify. In the next few days I will work with the Italian Rowing Federation (F.I.C.) to ensure that every rowing federation will receive an explanation; I want to be sure that everybody knows that this is just a big mistake.

IRN: What do you mean a big mistake? Could you elaborate?

GLM: Sure! First of all I want to point out that Agostino (Abbagnale) is absolutely clean. Taking GH would be suicide for him. He was out for two years due to a vascular abnormality, the result of a congenital deficit of protein "C," and had to start taking anticoagulant medication before he could return to his training. He continues to take these medications daily under the supervision of Dr. Piovella of the University of Pavia. If he were on a GH cycle he would be dead by now, as the two drugs are a lethal combination.

IRN: So how do you explain the results published by the "Corriere Della Sera" (a major Italian newspaper)?

GLM: This is merely part of a malicious campaign targeted at discrediting the heads of our Olympic Committee (C.O.N.I.) and accomplished by destroying the reputations of our athletes. They took an inconclusive, exploratory study and made a case out of that. I would like to explain to your readers how this whole thing started.

IRN: Please, go ahead.

GLM: After the big EPO scandals, the heads of F.I.C. and I decided to join together and take part in a campaign called "Io Non Rischio La Salute" (I Do Not Take Chances With My Health) in support of eliminating the use of illegal substances in athletics.

Part of our contribution to this campaign was making our athletes available for experimental testing to develop new methods of detecting these illegal substances. Tests were done several times in different places. One such test was done in altitude at Terminillo. For the past few years, the Italian National Team has trained at Piediluco and rested in altitude at Terminillo an hour from the lake so as to reap the benefits of recovering in altitude without the disadvantage of training in altitude. In order to accommodate testing that day, the athletes had to skip a workout. Not only that, but they were required to take the test on an empty stomach (fasting since the previous evening). Everyone knows that fasting causes GH levels in the blood to increase significantly. Agostino was one of the last to be tested and by the time it was his turn, it was way past his usual lunch time.

IRN: Yes it doesn't make any sense. At this point what course of action are you planning to take?

GLM: I have invited the party involved in the scandal along with some experts in the field to participate in a public debate that is going to take place next Thursday (10/26/2000). I will challenge those people to defend their accusations. Agostino is suing "Corriere Della Sera" and the journalist that wrote the article. And as I told you before, I will send a formal explanation to all of the major rowing federations. As a coach I know the feeling of frustration when you find out that you have been beaten unfairly. Therefore, it is very important to me that I assure everyone that our team, not only our quad, was clean during the Olympic Games.

See also the Federazione Italiano Canotaggio Doping Scandal Communiqué, translated by Marco Bovo.