Trying to control the use of drugs...

Trying to control the use of drugs in track and field is getting so costly that society might decide to kill the sport, the medical chairman of track’s world governing body said in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

“You start to approach a limit that society has the right to say, ‘Stop!’ ” Arne Ljungqvist said, referring to the increasingly sophisticated and expensive countermeasures used to uncover drug cheating.

“Researchers might say, ‘We have other concerns than the problems of elite athletes’ ” and center more on the battle against cancer, AIDS and heart disease, he said.

Scientists and sports officials are discussing new ways to try to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs, spurred by the Ben Johnson scandal in the Seoul Olympics.

Dr. Jongsei Park of South Korea said: “Despite ethical scandals, deaths, chronic illness and regulatory rules, the (drug) industry is alive and well.”