The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Beijing

One of China's top distance runners, Sun Yingjie, whose two-year ban for doping ends on Friday, is aiming to compete at next year's Beijing Olympics, state press said.

Sun, banned for steroid use following a positive test at China's national games in 2005, will make her official comeback at the Xiamen Marathon in southeast China's Fujian province in January, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The race will serve as a qualifying event for the Beijing Olympics, it said.

"At present Sun Yingjie is only in average form and needs systematic training following two years out of competition," the paper quoted her new coach, Tao Shaoming, as saying.