Hezekiel Sepeng is a hero in South Africa.“The way I ran, this is not normal," he recalled."Because at one stage, I was last. When the bell went, I was last...”With a surprise second-place finish in an 800-meter race, he became South Africa’s first black competitor to win an Olympic medal,in 1996.But one drug test changed his life. With one positive result in 2005, Sepeng went from hero to outcast.He claims the lab made an error. Authorities disagreed and gave him a two-year ban, effectively ending his career.Today, the 39-year-old athlete works with the athletics federation and runs a foundation for underprivileged children. His message to them is clear:“Cheating, it’s not good in sports. And our kids, especially you know in countries like South Africa, most of the countries in Africa, we still need to teach our kids about doping," he said.Sepeng was just one of many athletes watching intently as the World Anti-Doping Agency further tightened its guidelines at a conference in Johannesburg this month.The new rules double doping bans from two years to four.Doping scandals have rocked many sports in recent years.Top athletes such as U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong and U.S. baseball player Barry Bonds have been accused of using illegal performance-enhancing substances.WADA president John Fahey said the tougher rules come from the athletes themselves.
