A top Chinese swimmer has been banned for life for doping only six weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.
TheChinese Swimming Association said Friday, it imposed a lifetime banagainst star backstroker Ouyang Kunpeng after he failed anout-of-competition drug test on May 1. Ouyang's coach, Feng Shangbao,also received a life-time ban.
The association says it is cracking down on doping violations. First time offenders usually receive a two-year ban.
Ouyangcompeted in the 2004 Athens Olympics and won three silver medals at the2006 Asian Games. The 25-year-old was considered perhaps Olympic hostChina's best chance of winning a backstroke medal this August.
Ouyangis the biggest-name Chinese swimmer to fail a doping test for severalyears. Chinese swimmers were involved in a series of doping scandalsin the 1990's.