Doping - Top Chinese swimmer Ouyang banned for life

By Liu Zhen

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top backstroke swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng has been banned for life for doping, officials confirmed on Friday, dealing the host nation an embarrassing blow just 42 days before the start of the Beijing Olympics.

Chinese swimmers were embroiled in a series of doping scandals in the 1990s and the country's sporting authorities have pledged to weed out drug cheats before the Beijing Olympics.

First time offenders usually receive a two-year ban so Ouyang's tough sentence will serve as a stern warning to any other Chinese drug cheats before the Aug. 8-24 Games.

The 25-year-old tested positive for the anabolic agent clenbuterol, Zhao Jian, head of the anti-doping office at the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) confirmed.

Ouyang, a semi-finallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics and winner of four silver medals at the 2006 Asian Games, claimed the 100 and 200m titles at the national championships in April and was his country's best hope of an Olympic backstroke medal.

"The swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng tested positive in an out-of-competition test on May 1," read an official Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) notice posted on the website of the official China Sports Daily paper.

"The Chinese Swimming Association decided to give him a life ban ... although we have done lots of work, this positive case still happened, which is a big lesson for us.

"We are going to take a clear stand on anti-doping work and firmly crack down on any violations."