China's new spirit

Wu Yanyan banned for four years only last month

China have revealed plans to better their 16 gold medals taken home from the 1996 Atlanta Games and avoid past doping traumas.

Chinese Olympic Committee president Yuan Weimin told a press conference in Beijing that the country had two objectives for the 311 athletes competing in Sydney.

"One is to surpass the medal haul from the Atlanta Games four years ago, and the other is to succeed not only from the athletic but also from the spiritual perspective," he said.

By "spiritual", Yuan's target is a dope-free Sydney and China have implemented a strict anti-doping regime consisting of blood sampling and out-of-competition testing.

China's Olympic past history has been marred by athletes caught taking drugs.

In 1999, 10 Chinese swimmers were suspended for doping related offences.

Shock

The case of the Chinese swimmers stripped of nine out of 23 gold medals won in total at the 1994 Asian Games due to failed drugs tests shocked the world.

Last year China caught seven track and field athletes and five weightlifters taking drugs.

And it was only last month world champion swimmer Wu Yanyan was banned for four years after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.

But Yuan hopes that this "out-of-competition" testing can remove the stigma and help China start afresh in Sydney along with the new millennium.