Is Chinese Breastroker Luo Xuejuan Hospitalized Due to Steroid Use?

December 28th, 2006

Luo Xuejuan will spend most of January in a hospital as she has been in Beijing for over a week, but doctors still are unsure of the cause of her illness (cough, cough, steroids, cough), reported The First on Tuesday.

Poor health has been plaguing the 2004 Athens champion in the 100m breastroke for months, casting a shadow on her 2008 Olympic Games prospects. She was excluded from the Doha Games contingent roster in September because of her health, then fainted following a training session in November caused by what doctors said was a lack of rest, or low blood pressure.

Luo was sent to the hospital after suffering heart disease one month ago before moving to Beijing, where an expert panel failed to find out the cause of the problem. An official from the Swimming Sport Administration Centre of the State General Administration of Sport said Luo is now under good medical care while waiting for further diagnosis by experts.

Zhang Yadong, chief coach of the national swimming team expressed deep concern about Luo’s condition. “Illness can have a large impact on an athlete, especially one who is at the zenith of his or her career.” Agreed, we all saw what happened to Thorpe, but alas, probably a different set of circumstances here.