(by Stephen Graham of SA)

The trial of a German track coach accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs has uncovered evidence indicating that gene doping may already be a reality in sport.

E-mails seized in the investigation of Thomas Springstein contained references to Repoxygen, a substance normally used in gene therapy.

Springstein, a 47-year-old who has worked with some of Germany's top runners, is on trial in the eastern city of Magdeburg on charges including the alleged doping of young athletes in 2003.

The trial took an unexpected twist this week when the court was read e-mails found when police raided Springstein's home in search of evidence.

In one e-mail, Springstein complained that the "new Repoxygen is hard to get. Please give me new instructions soon so that I can order the product before Christmas."

Repoxygen is designed for gene therapy on patients with anemia. It can boost an athlete's performance by inducing the release of erythropoietin, or EPO, a substance that stimulates the production of red blood cells to carry more oxygen to the muscles.

The International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency already test for synthetic EPO. But there is no known test for Repoxygen, which gives the body the gene to stimulate EPO production on its own.

Gene doping, which is banned in sport, involves transferring genes directly into human cells to blend into an athlete's own DNA in order to enhance muscle growth and increase strength or endurance.

Criminal activity

Until now, most experts have said they didn't believe gene doping was yet in practice, suggesting it could be a threat by the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Werner Franke, a German scientist who has documented doping cases in the former East Germany, said Springstein's e-mail exchanges about Repoxygen and other substances suggested criminal activity.

"This is about arranged bodily harm. This is worse than in the GDR and more brutal than the Balco scandal," Franke said in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The founder of the US Balco lab was jailed last year for orchestrating an illegal steroids distribution scheme among elite athletes.

The German Athletics Association is urging the government to make genetic doping illegal, saying only police and prosecutors can tackle the problem.

"It is asking too much of the sports bodies," to police the issue, association president Clemens Prokop said on Wednesday. "We need tighter laws."

Springstein has worked with athletes including former east German track stars Grit Breuer and Katrin Krabbe. The two were banned from competition for using the steroid clenbuterol in 1992.

Gene doping is prohibited in the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances and methods. Some 50 leading research scientists attended a Wada symposium on gene doping in December in Stockholm, Sweden.

The IOC plans to conduct 1 200 doping tests at this month's Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The testing period began with the opening of the athletes' villages on Wednesday. The games themselves open on Feb 10.