ATHLETICS: The case of Geraldine Hendricken, the Irish 1,500 metre runner whose dope test earlier this year revealed traces of the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone, took a fresh twist yesterday with the final report from the laboratory analysis carried out in Cologne on the dietary supplements that she has admitted to have freely been using during the time of her test.

Evidence was found in the final analysis that anabolic agents were present in the supplements in sufficient amounts to cause a positive test.

Hendricken had claimed that such contamination of the supplements - which she had assumed to be clean - was the only possible explanation for the discovery of nandrolone traces after an out-of-competition test carried out on February 10th.

Two different batches of the supplements that she had been using at the time were sent for analysis, and though one was found to be clear, the other contained traces of metabolites similar to 19-Norandrosterone, the precursor to the anabolic steroid nandrolone and which actually leads to the positive test.

For legal reasons Hendricken has not been able to name the supplement she was using, but it is known to be a plant-based sterol, and used for its weight-loss properties. The amount of contamination was also shown to be slight, but enough to remain in the system for at least several hours.

Hendricken is still waiting on the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) to bring closure on the affair, and finalise their arbitration panel to examine the details of her case. A date is now due to be set within the next three weeks, where Hendricken will formally be informed of the length of her suspension, normally two years.

So far, however, the IAAF, the international athletics body, has adopted the strict liability rule regarding nandrolone cases, in that the athlete is ultimately responsible for all illegal substances found in their system, no matter how they got there. One study revealed that around 14 per cent of supplements tested contain a banned substance.

"I am a bit optimistic about things after this," said Hendricken. "I know there is the rule of strict liability, but it does give me some hope, and that this result can be considered.

"The fact is that if this was a court of law I would innocent. But at least I have found a source, and hopefully the AAI can find some room for leniency. But either way I'm prepared for what happens. I'm still training at a very high level and still thinking about returning to the track at some stage."

Hendricken, who just turned 33, has also learned in recent weeks that the results of two further tests - one on January 19th and the other on February 16th - returned negative.

The latter test, taken at the National Indoor Championships in Belfast and carried out by UK Athletics, came six days after the Irish Sports Council test, which revealed the nandrolone traces.