All the latest news, Around Michael Klim

Gold medals won by Alexander Popov and Michael Klim were yesterday recovered from a Canberra
dam, where they had been dumped by thieves who had stolen a safe from swimming coach Gennadi Touretski. Touretski's safe, which contained an Olympic 100metres freestyle gold medal won by Popov at the
Atlanta Games, Klim's Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games 4x200 meters relay gold medal and a Seoul Olympic 50metres freestyle bronze medal of Russian swimmer Gennadi Prigoda, was found floating in Dunlop pond late yesterday. Papers, passports and jewellery, including a rare gold watch given to Touretski on his 50th birthday by Popov, were still missing. "We are not sure if the thieves developed a conscience or if they thought the medals were worthless," a police spokesperson said. Thieves had broken into Touretski's home in the Canberra suburb of Bruce on Sunday, when he was returning from the Australian championships in Hobart. "These medals are a sign of the relationship between me and the athletes and a sign of their success - it is like a religious thing for me, a sentimental and emotional tie," Touretski said. Popov had given Touretski the Atlanta medal to thank his coach after he won the 50m and 100m freestyle double for the second successive Olympics. Klim gave Touretski his Commonwealth gold medal when the Touretski-coached 4x200 metres medley relay team smashed the world record, previously held by a Soviet Union team also coached by Touretski.

By JACQUELIN MAGNAY
and DARREN GRAY
CANBERRA
Wednesday 11 April 2001

Two-hundred-and-fifty athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra will be drug-tested by the end of the week after sensational drugs allegations were laid against AIS swimming coach Gennadi Touretski yesterday. Touretski has been summonsed to appear in the ACT Magistrates' Court after the illegal anabolic steroid stanozolol - the same drug for which Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was banned in 1988 - was allegedly found in his possession. It is believed the drugs were found in Touretski's personal safe, along with Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medals, which had been stolen from his Canberra home. They were
recovered from park lake several kilometres away last week. Sources have told The Age that fewer than 10 tablets were found. Touretski, 51, coaches some of the world's fastest swimmers, including Australia's Olympic gold medallist Michael Klim and five-time Russian Olympic champion Alexandre Popov. He has been suspended from the Australian team for this year's world championships in Japan and suspended on full pay from his AIS job. The Russian-born coach has told AIS executive director Mark Peters that he was not involved in any wrongdoing. His lawyer, Jason Parkinson, said Touretski had refused to be interviewed by police until he was supplied with full details of the alleged offence. Mr Parkinson read a statement drawing
attention to the burglary from Touretski's home. "Police allege the thieves later forced open the safe and then dumped it in a pond," he said. Touretski will face Canberra Magistrates Court on Thursday on a charge under the Poisons and Drugs Act, which carries a maximum penalty of six months. Sports officials were keen to distance athletes from the furore, saying that widespread drug testing undertaken by the Australian Sports Drug Agency showed that Australia's athletes were clean. But the blanket drug testing of all athletes started on Friday as soon as the Australian Sports Drug Agency was notified by police of their find. Popov was tested three days ago and Klim was tested two days ago. Both swimmers would not comment yesterday but Klim's father, Wotek Klim, said: "My son has nothing to do with this matter, Michael cannot comment because he doesn't have anything to do with this. This is a big shock, we have to find out what has happened and the matter is under investigation, but Michael has not taken drugs." The agency's chief executive, John Mendoza, said: "At this stage, there is absolutely no evidence to prove any association between the alleged find and the AIS swim squad itself." He described the anabolic steroid in question as well-known and "readily detectable". He said no Australian swimmer had tested positive to a banned substance since a small and inadvertent offence in 1998. Questioned about the furore, Prime Minister John Howard said: "We will continue to have a very strong line on drugs in sport." Australian Swimming executive director Vena Murray said Australia's swimmers would be unfairly tainted by association. She said that Touretski would face a life ban if any drugs allegations were proved. "Possession of drugs is treated as the equivalent of trafficking." Touretski also coaches Australians Sarah Ryan, David Jenkins, Ray Haas and Antony Matkovich. He was in charge of Australia's world-beating men's freestyle relays at the Olympics.

                        By JACQUELIN MAGNAY
                        CANBERRA
                        Wednesday 11 April 2001

Gennadi Touretski may have the image of a mad Russian scientist, but he is acknowledged as being a man of extraordinary ideas and a passion for excellence. He is also a tumultuous, complicated character. Hailed as a guru and the cornerstone of Australia's recent sprinting success in the pool, Touretski has, nonetheless, been controversial since arriving in Canberra in 1991 to head the Australian Institute of Sport swim program. This episode of alleged drug possession is the latest in his rollercoaster affair with officialdom and the law. In 1995 Touretski was convicted of assault, fined $US10,000 and spent 30 days in an American jail as part of a plea bargain negotiated with the FBI. He had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor - that during a flight in the US he poked an airline passenger in the eye, jumped on another, shoved a flight attendant and bit a first officer's arm. He was suspended from the AIS and the Australian Swim Coaches Association slapped a four-year ban on him that prevented him from officiating on a national team. However, this ban was lifted after the coaches association decided that Touretski had shown contrition. It also helped that his then fledgling charge, Michael Klim, was showing the enormous promise that he would eventually deliver. Klim at one stage smashed the 100-metres butterfly world record three times. There was also an incident involving a car accident in Canberra in which the star coach was alleged to have left the scene. He later explained to police that he was confused and disorientated by the collision. The radical and extraordinary approach of Touretski, 51, was no more evident than when he changed the stroke of Klim to that of a "snake with kayak", a style resembling a straight-arm action that was completely at odds with the smooth, flowing technique of his other protege and famous Olympic star, Alexandre Popov. Touretski studied the actions of dolphins and sharks and was the first to adopt a speed drill in the pool whereby the swimmer was dragged along at a much faster rate than he or she was capable of - just to experience the sensation of swimming fast. His swimmers swear by his genius. Klim has long said that Touretski was the secret behind his world record achievements. Popov moved to Canberra from Russia just to stay with the coach who had recognised his abilities, not as a backstroker, which he was competent at, but as a sprinter. Again this proved beneficial - Popov went on to collect myriad Olympic titles, becoming the only man to win consecutive 50-metres and 100-metres freestyle doubles at the Olympics - Barcelona and Atlanta. Both men have given him gold medals in recognition of his efforts. When Touretski first arrived in Australia, other coaches were sceptical about his radical ideas, but his tremendous success and strong support from Australian head swimming coach Don Talbot has led to the coaching and swimming fraternity embracing him, especially over the past two years. At the Sydney Olympic Games he was the man in charge of the hugely successful relay squads, as well as his individual swimmers. Touretski is a man who loves the latest toys and gadgets; his home is filled with the most up-to-date electronics. He is married to Ionna and has a six-year-old daughter, Sasha.