German high jumper dropped after positive drug test
( 2001-07-26 10:47 ) (7 )

Germany's top high jumper at the 2000 Olympics, Amewu Mensah, will be dropped from anti-drug posters after revealing she had tested positive for a banned substance, a charity agency said on Wednesday.

Mensah, who finished eighth at the Sydney Games, announced on Tuesday she had tested positive for the anabolic steroid oxandrolone on June 4.

The 24-year-old from Leverkusen, who until recently was romantically linked with German 800 metre gold medallist Nils Schumann, with whom she appeared on nationwide anti-drug posters, faces a two-year ban.

Mensah said she had not knowingly taken the banned substance and said the oxandrolone levels were so low they would not have affected her performance.

But the comments cut little ice with the anti-drug charity.

"With the confirmation of the second test, the partnership between Amewu Mensah and the charity 'No one takes drugs' has been terminated," the charity said in a statement.

"The poster in which Amewu Mensah appears with Nils Schumann in speaking out against drugs and racist violence will not be used any longer."