Australia's elite swimming body ordered sweeping drugs tests yesterday after top coach Gennadi Touretski was charged with possessing performance-enhancing anabolic steroids.
The Russian-born Touretski, who coached Olympic legend Alexander Popov and world champion Michael Klim, was summonsed to appear in court tomorrow. The banned drugs were believed to have been found in a safe stolen from his house last week.
Australian Sports Drug Agency chief executive John Mendoza said there was absolutely no evidence to prove any association between the alleged steroids find and the AIS swim squad. But he said they would be acting on evidence provided by the Australian Federal Police.
"And we will be testing the majority of the swimmers before the weekend. I can confirm that the substance is well-known and readily detectable," he said.
Australian Swimming dropped Touretski from its coaching staff for the World Championships in Japan. Five of Touretski's swimmers are going to Japan in July - Klim, Sarah Ryan, Antony Matkovich, Ray Hass and David Jenkins.
Executive director Vena Murray said at this stage there was nothing to link the allegations with any Australian swimmers.
Australian Sports Commission executive director Mark Peters said Touretski had denied the allegation and the decision to suspend the 51-year-old coach should not be construed as a judgment on Touretski or his swimmers.
Touretski's lawyer Jason Parkinson said his client would not make a statement to police until full details of the charges were made available.
Touretski has seen his swimmers claim 27 world records since his arrival in Australia from Russia in 1992. His biggest success was Popov, the Olympic freestyle sprint champion at the 1992 and 1996 Games.
Popov went to the Sydney Games last year as the world record holder in both the 50 metres and 100 metres freestyle but had to settle for silver in his favoured 100 metres and finished sixth in the 50 metres.
Touretski also coached Klim to four world titles at the 1998 Perth World Championships and to the world 100 metre butterfly record.
Klim's manager Rob Woodhouse said the charges were "pretty disturbing" but he said Klim was "pretty relaxed" about the situation.
Touretski is an innovator who studied the motion of fish, kangaroos and horses to improve the hydrodynamics of his swimmers.
Touretski believes efficient stroke-making rather than just power enhances swimming performance and his swimmers are taught to move through the water like fish.
Touretski migrated from Russia to Australia eight years ago and became a citizen in 1996. He has a degree in engineering and training in biomechanics, biochemistry, fluid mechanics and sports physiology.
Meanwhile, swimming legend Mark Spitz has lashed out at the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) policy on performance-enhancing drugs just 24 hours after Touretski's suspension.
The record Olympic gold medallist has accused the governing body of "cover-ups" and "contemptuous" behaviour in their handling of swimmers who have taken drugs.
"I think the IOC is contemptuous," said Spitz, who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Games in Munich. "They can test for all the drugs that are performance-enhancing, but they have a vested interest in not wanting to know."
Spitz said that if he had known that the drugs around in his day were effective, he would have been tempted to take them to win.
"Because of the demand and the importance of the group of people that I would be participating with, it would become very contagious," he said. "I might have fallen into the same entrapment of winning at all expense."