A male Nassuvian and Grand Bahamian female

By Dahalia Smith, NG Sports Reporter

Two former national team bodybuilding athletes have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.

Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation President Danny Sumner said Wednesday that a male from New Providence and a female from Grand Bahama tested positive at the August 3 national championships.

Fortunately, neither of the athletes were named to this year's Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships squad which will compete October 28-30 in Georgetown, Guyana.

The positive results come on the heel of Raymond Tucker's positive test at the 1999 Bermuda CAC Championships. He was stripped of the middleweight bronze medal he won and suspended for two years.

Tucker is a member of this year's national team.

Sumner who received the positive results just yesterday said he was not at liberty to disclose the name of the athletes. He further declined to name the substance(s) found in their tests. The athletes had also not yet been notified off their positive tests.

After further investigations, the athletes could, like Tucker did, face a two-year suspension as well fines between $500 - $2,000 by the International Olympic Committee and the International Federation of Bodybuilders.

"I have been warning athletes to be careful of the supplements they take," he said. "If a test comes back positive it may not be steroids per se, but it could be medication, caffeine or birth control," Sumner explained. "So we will have to investigate and determine what substances they were taking."

If the athletes are found guilty, the appropriate actions will be taken by the federation.