Sharapova has been caught taking a drug that had previously not been banned but is now.
But said drug, meldonium, is apparently used to treat angina and myocardial infarction. It can help with exercise capacity for example.... Hmm. And she's not the only one to fail.
Did she really need to take meldonium? Interesting days ahead I think. Lyganos might agree it's used to treat her 'conditions'.
I suspect a lot of athletes have been taking it when it was not needed. And why add it to the banned list if it does not offer an advantage? Tip of the iceberg.
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It seems likely that all sports are drug infested.
I blame professionalism. Success means money.
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And they gave plenty of notice to stop using the drug. So no excuse.
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>> And they gave plenty of notice to stop using the drug. So no excuse.
>>
Reason #2
"I received an email on 22 December from Wada about the changes happening to the banned list and you can see prohibited items - and I didn't click on that link."
How many moral sponsors will now desert such a photogenic star?
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>> I blame professionalism. Success means money.
In sports, the top athletes earns very high amount of money while those who are not near top earns too little to make ends meet. This is quite a contrast compared to other professions like doctors, lawyers, engineers etc.
Thus, the fight for being in top is intense and those who can't have a bleak future.
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>>
>> And why add it to the banned list if it does not offer an advantage?
Drugs get onto WADA's list for 3 reasons.
1) They offer an unfair advantage (obvious)
2) They are potentially harmful if abused, or over long-term usage.
3) because the substance is actually 'illegal' - ie cannabis, cocaine
1) is cheating; 2) and 3) are about concern for the athletes' health
A quick search doesn't show up any long-term adverse effects from the use of this oe, but I'll delve into it later.
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She was prescribed a drug for medical reasons some considerable time ago, it has since, very recently, been made illegal, under a different name. She employs a fitness coach and sports doctor who, aware of her medical history, failed to make the connection.
Not exactly Lance Armstrong is she.
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She wasn't the only one caught. Wikipedia says
"... Russian ice dancer Ekaterina Bobrova, announced she had also tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships, ...Swedish Ethiopian-born middle-distance runner Abeba Aregawi,[38] Turkish middle-distance runner Gamze Bulut,[39] Ethiopian long-distance runner Endeshaw Negesse,[40] Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov,[41] and Ukrainian biathletes Olga Abramova[42] and Artem Tyshchenko.[43]"
What may be interesting would be to see the medical diagnosis which resulted in the drug being prescribed.
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Why were WADA not announcing the situation ?
Why was she allowed to jump the gun on an announcement ?
The PR machine is being cranked up.
>> She was prescribed a drug for medical reasons some considerable time ago
Seems a vast number of others have need of the same treatment.
>>, it has since, very recently, been made illegal, under a different name.
I suspect that is mot unusual that substances are marketed with a variety of names
It is reported that it is not approved in the USA and she is a US citizen.
>>
>> She employs a fitness coach and sports doctor who, aware of her medical history, failed to make the connection.
Plus SHE says she did not open the email re the drug being added to the list.
So did all of the team also not open it.
>> Not exactly Lance Armstrong is she.
>>
She appears to have significant influence in the sport
A four year ban is being " suggested" so she is unlikely to be back.
Old Nick Bollettieri has already been vocal but on the other hand Nike have acted quickly.
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... and now Tag Heuer have also withdrawn sponsorship. No doubt Porsche, Evian, Avon and the rest won't be far behind.
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>> >> Not exactly Lance Armstrong is she.
>> >>
>> She appears to have significant influence in the sport
Don't be disingenuous , you know exactly what I mean.
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BBC says "It is on the banned list now because Wada started seeing it in lots of samples and found it does have performance-enhancing properties."
So, 1) Cheating I reckon :-) (referencing Ian's list above)
She must pay her advisers stunning amounts of money, you'd think they'd have give better advice really... in fairness I would say they are more to blame than she is but unfortunately she's the one who gained the advantage.
Last edited by: smokie on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 09:28
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Ah well, clearly all the moralistic athletic gods on C4P have proclaimed the girl guilty
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Presumably if totally innocent, and unaware she was taking a banned substance, she can now sue her trainers, doctor, nutritionist, for future loss of earnings.
Won't get a fraction of it but they should have known better, being professional advisors to a multi million earning athlete.
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>> Presumably if totally innocent, and unaware she was taking a banned substance.
I initially was willing to give her the benefit of doubt given that the drug was only banned in January and she knew the drug by its brand name Mildronate and not the banned Meldonium.
However, the drug is only supposed to be taken for six weeks and she has been taking it for years - apparently there is no medical reason to do this!
It would be great if the sports rules changed so that anyone that lost a game to a cheat could sue them for their lost prize money and sponsorship deals.
Last edited by: zippy on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 23:22
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>> Ah well, clearly all the moralistic athletic gods on C4P have proclaimed the girl guilty
>>
I rather think she did that herself.
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>> clearly all the moralistic athletic gods on C4P have proclaimed the girl guilty
Seems to me a bit unfair to call the girl a 'drug cheat' when her trainers have been feeding her the stuff for years.
Anyway I detest the expression 'drug cheat'. Puritanical moralistic twaddle.
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>> >>
>> Anyway I detest the expression 'drug cheat'. Puritanical moralistic twaddle.
>>
Not if you're competing clean and one of them beats you, leaving you millions out of pocket in prize money, contracts and advertising revenue.
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It's the individual's choice whether to 'compete clean' or take toxic performance enhancers. If the 'millions' matter that much to them they should go ahead. But I wouldn't want my children doing it.
Why don't people seem to understand this? Sod sport, it's a goddamn bore at the best of times.
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"Ah well, clearly all the moralistic athletic gods on C4P have proclaimed the girl guilty"
or not guilty, depending on who your god is :-)
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A healthy person taking a drug because - R4 said this morning - of a 'family history of diabetes'. I reckon most people can drag up a 'family history of diabetes'. Yet I doubt many of them are taking this drug.
Wikipedia says that it is used to treat heart problems: "Meldonium is clinically used to treat angina and myocardial infarction." I somewhat doubt that a leading athlete has 'heart problems'.
It is very difficult to argue otherwise than that she has been taking this drug for years in the expectation that it would improve her performance.
This makes her a cheat. And so she deserves to be banned. As she has been cheating for the last ten years, she should have all her titles removed (if she has any?).
Just because an item isn't on the banned list doesn't mean that you should take it; it's still cheating.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 10:18
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>> Just because an item isn't on the banned list doesn't mean that you should take
>> it; it's still cheating.
>>
So says Dr Mappy, who's medical credentials are about as sound as Dr Mengele
>>
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 13:09
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Z, your views are being swayed by the shape of her body and a pretty face.
Pat
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>> Z, your views are being swayed by the shape of her body and a pretty
>> face.
>>
>> Pat
Pat, they aint, I don't like the girl. Its just a suspicion it may be an honest mistake.
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>>Its just a suspicion it may be an honest mistake.
My suspicion is that there was nothing honest about taking it in the first place; but I can hold that suspicion without mentioning your name in the same sentence as a mass murdered!
She's a top class athlete for whom the chosen treatment for a condition that is utterly vague (might be a family history of diabetes, might be low magnesium, might be some sort of heart irregularity) just happens to be a drug that is known to enhance performance.
There can be little doubt that is why she - and a goodly number of other athletes - took it.
I think she should have her titles stripped from her as it will dissuade other athletes from taking things that are 'not illegal yet'.
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>> She's a top class athlete for whom the chosen treatment for a condition that is
>> utterly vague (might be a family history of diabetes, might be low magnesium, might be
>> some sort of heart irregularity) just happens to be a drug that is known to
>> enhance performance.
Except that wasn't known at the time she first started taking it
If she was taking for "enhancement" purposes, she would have been aware of its impending ban.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 10:57
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>>Except that wasn't known at the time she first started taking it
Depends what you mean by 'known'. It wasn't on the list of drugs banned by the WADA. However it was known to improve heart activity - that's what it's for. It is therefore no surprise to anybody that it enhances performance! The moment you type it into Google you get the first line of the Wikipedia article which says it is an anti-ischemic drug; that's enough to know it's likely to help athletes.
>>If she was taking for "enhancement" purposes, she would have been aware of its impending ban.
Only if she'd clicked on the link in the email... There's a whole list of athletes who have been taking this drug and have been caught. You'd have thought they'd have been aware too.
"In addition to Sharpova and Aregawi, Tokyo Marathon winner Ethiopia's Endeshaw Negesse has reported tested positive for meldonium doping.
"Cyclist Eduard Vorganov also tested positive for the drug in an out-of-competition test in January, according to the BBC."
Wikipedia tells us: "A December 2015 study in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis argued that meldonium “demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions."
I bet that's not news to the very expensive team of doctors that look after her.
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>> Wikipedia tells us: "A December 2015 study in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis argued
>> that meldonium “demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection
>> against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions."
What about ten years earlier, what does wikipediea tell us about it then? Doesn't does it, your entire case is based upon 2015 onwards, not anytime ten years previously when it could well have been taken for purely medical reasons.
>> I bet that's not news to the very expensive team of doctors that look after
>> her.
If it wasn't news, they would have been aware of its banning wouldn't they. And she would have flushed.
Hows that twins experiment going?
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>> What about ten years earlier, what does Wikipedia tell us about it then? Doesn't does
>> it, your entire case is based upon 2015 onwards, not anytime ten years previously when
>> it could well have been taken for purely medical reasons.
"a 2015 study revealed that 724 of 4,316 Russian athletes tested were found to have meldonium in their system." (source: BBC).
If Russian athletes have such a high level of severe heart problems, it's a wonder they ever manage to win anything. Alternatively Russian doctors have been using this performance-enhancing substance that hadn't yet been caught.
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>> I bet that's not news to the very expensive team of doctors that look after
>> her.
That's almost conclusive for me; when a number of high profile athletes have already been deemed to have been using it illicitly, and when any top athlete and his or her team must be acutely aware of the risks, the chance that this was accidental seem very slim.
A jury might not convict on it, but unless she has a watertight and provable excuse she is in the cart.
There will almost always be an excuse or 'explanation', which is why as RO'R says there is conventionally strict liability for beaches I imagine.
Last edited by: Manatee on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 11:34
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>>liability for beaches I imagine.
I wish I could think of something funny to say.
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There must be a joke there somewhere. My first attempt at typing that was breeches, does that make it any easier?
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Not really. I was trying to think of something around "looking at the peaches".
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>> Not really. I was trying to think of something around "looking at the peaches".
not like you me ole fruit, sour grapes maybe?
>>
>>
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....well, I think someone should be held liable, foreshore......
...coat, getting......
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"Z, your views are being swayed by the shape of her body and a pretty face."
Everyone is, that's how the world turns. Don't see many fat, bald women on a tampon advert.
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I doubt that
Wikipedia "Mengele received doctorates in anthropology and medicine from Munich University"
:-)
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I always liked Dr Hook meself
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There is a Strict Liability regarding doping offences in sport. The athlete is responsible for making sure nothing they take is on the banned list and making excuses that they hadn't kept up to date or they were unaware of it cuts no ice.
Rule one when caught doping is to deny, deny, deny, and to come up with any excuse for testing positive that comes to hand. Alberto Contador claimed his positive for Clenbuterol was as a result of eating contaminated meat his brother had brought him up from Spain during the Giro, Floyd Landis that his positive for Testosterone was as a result of celebrating a Tour de France stage win, Tyler Hamilton that the EPO found in his blood was residue from his twin brother who was still born, Rio Ferdinand "Forgot" he was due a drugs test.
You test positive, it's almost certainly because you were cheating and on the rare occasions when someone took something by mistake they were a prat because they all know the score and have still gained an advantage and need to pay.
Last edited by: Robin O'Reliant on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 10:47
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An only good rule/law is one you can enforce. So was testing a bit hit and miss until a new test appeared?
You certainly would not announce a drug as performance enhancing if you had no way to test for its use. That would be exceptionally silly!
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I don't see why she should be stripped of any titles before the drug became banned. She wasn't breaking any rules. OK, perhaps its not in the spirit of the game, but when was the last time that mattered to any competitor?
I don't think she deserves any sympathy for the period since it became banned, it is her responsibility. She knew she was taking a drug, she needs to make sure it is not banned.
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That sounds about right to me.
There was some so-called expert (on chemicals rather than sport) on Sky 30 mins ago who said they would have known full well that the drug was likely to be performance-enhancing, and he also dismissed her pretext as an incredibly unlikely reason for taking the drug.
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>>Just because an item isn't on the banned list doesn't mean that you should take it; it's still cheating.
It might well be immoral and unattractive, but its not cheating.
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NoFM2R>>It might well be immoral and unattractive, but its not cheating.
It's definitely cheating. In a game which is supposed to be about pitting your human strength and skill against another human, then performance-enhancing drugs are just silly.
TBH, I don't actually care. Given so much of sporting achievement comes down to regulating the ratio of milk:lentils:cornflakes:pasta:steak eaten by the athlete, a bit of me says that they should be allowed to take anything they like. Probably not very good for the athletes, but then training for sport isn't very good for the athletes either. Diabetes, arthritis etc. etc. will all take their toll later in life on account of their abnormal treatment of their bodies.
It's honestly so dull watching tennis that at least stories like this cheer it up.
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>> It's honestly so dull watching tennis that at least stories like this cheer it up.
>>
Totally disagree as would anyone who watched last Sunday's Davis Cup match
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Give the poor girl a chance.
She has put on a great performance at HER press conference.
The PR machine is doing its best.
"She has only been taking an illegal dug for just twenty five days."
Lots of tennis types support her but Pat Cash has not seen the script.
Serena has said nice things.
Even the WTA and Tennis Australian have been vocal.
It has already been suggested that both cycling and athletics would come down hard on anyone in their sport who is found taking drugs.
Of course The Court of Arbitration has a record of reducing the length of bans so by the time that is resolved all will revert to "normal"
Meanwhile if you have the funds a Hyperbaric chamber is useful .
www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904787404576532854267519860
Every little helps towards the big rewards.
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I've been thinking about this a bit.
Obviously guilty. Took the drug, its illegal, no argument. Or denial, to be fair.
However, in connection to leniency and mitigation;
The first drug test she took picked up on the [newly banned] drug, as everybody knew it would be.
Consequently I am leaning towards believing that she didn't know she was taking a banned drug.
So I think she knew she was taking a drug but didn't know it was banned. Why she didn't know is more difficult to understand.
I am feeling more lenient.
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And it would seem more than a bit sanctimonious if the governing body were to flip from "it's OK to take this" to "it's illegal" almost overnight and then issue a four year ban.
Hard to credit though that she or her team didn't know. Maybe she (or they were taking on her behalf) a view that she probably wouldn't be tested in January and/or there would be some slack for residual traces of the drug that had only been banned 25 days earlier.
Maybe it would be better to define things that they are allowed to take, rather than to proscribe other substances. Then there would be less incentive to find legal 'cheats' like this one.
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From BrianByPass above
"The decision to add meldonium to the banned list was approved on 16 September 2015"
That doesn't mean it was announced then but I bet it was announced in good time for Jan 1.
however I can see some minor mitigations.
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>> if the governing body were to flip from "it's OK to take this" to "it's illegal" almost overnight
I think you miss the point (or perhaps I do). It was always regarded as (or hoped to be) performance enhancing by those taking it and those administering it.
It was never regarded by the governing body as 'OK' to take it. They just hadn't banned it yet - presumably because they didn't know about it, or about its widespread use, or about its effect on performance.
I'd be pretty certain that the scientists have already created a variant of the drug which is soon to be used by athletes if it isn't already - as it won't be the banned substance. A bit like these illegal highs where the Government is trying to ban things that haven't been thought of yet.
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The further up the food chain you are the more careful you should / must be.
You can obtain any substance, eat any food, have any sort of drink/ liquid and have a team to assist.
I suspect she was too busy chasing money and ignored the basics "cos my team does that ".
Delegation is fine but it is also her responsibility to monitor things.
It was reported that she was savvy enough to remove labels of a "non sponsoring " brand of bottled water less a photo appeared in the press so she knows how to monitor some things.
A suspect the tennis authorities will go soft and her team of lawyers will do the rest..
A two year ban would seem reasonable to me but my money would be on a one year ban.
Last edited by: henry k on Wed 9 Mar 16 at 11:34
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>> Totally disagree as would anyone who watched last Sunday's Davis Cup match
I assure you that if I had watched last Sunday's Davis Cup match I would have been reading a book. Same goes for anything which involves grown men running around playing baby games. Don't see the point in it. Something like tennis or cricket that bangs on for hours really is the worst of the worst.
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Or that indoor cycling where they just go round & round & round. I'm not denying their superb fitness, and some tactics come into play, but I'd rather watch the salmon leaping at the local Foss.
There must be an equation somewhere relating to age & the amount of sport you watch. I used to play soccer, cricket, rugby, squash & tennis. And watch lots of sport. Nowadays I cannot play any of these games, apart from tennis & pathetic attempts at 5 a side. I cannot even watch 45 minutes of soccer without my attention wandering.
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The only two sports I can really enjoy on the TV are BoarderCross & Slopestyle.. Both winter sports. The odd 45 mins of soccer, a little WRC, and that's your lot!
Talking of WRC... VW Polo's, Hyundai I 20s, Ford Fiestas. WTF more like.
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>> VW Polo's, Hyundai I 20s, Ford Fiestas. WTF more like.
>>
Why not? Austin Metros were pretty successful in the 80s.
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We all know that the Russians and East Europeans never cheat at sports.
Reuters is reporting
"Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Tuesday there would be more cases of Russian sports people using meldonium, a banned substance for which star tennis player Maria Sharapova tested positive, TASS news agency reported.
He also said that the ministry had warned Russian sports people before about meldonium being outlawed by the World Anti-Doping Agency."
www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/meldonium-maria-sharapova-failed-drugs-test
"• It is manufactured in Latvia and only distributed in Baltic countries and Russia. It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorised in the rest of Europe.
• It increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity in athletes.
Wada found “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance†by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue.
• The decision to add meldonium to the banned list was approved on 16 September 2015, and it came into effect on 1 January 2016. Wada had spent the previous year monitoring the drug before adding it to the banned list.
• The drug was name-checked in the latest investigative documentary on Russian doping reforms by the German Hajo Seppelt on Sunday. The documentary referred to a 2015 study in which 17% of Russian athletes (724 of 4,316) tested were found to have meldonium in their system. A global study found 2.2% of athletes had it in their system.
• L’Equipe reported that the scientific advisor to the French Agency Against Doping (AFLD), Professor Xavier Bigard, said in interviews with athletes at last year’s European Games in Baku that a wide proportion of athletes admitted taking meldonium.
• It is classed as an S4 substance under the Wada code, which addresses hormone and metabolic modulators.
• A memo was sent out to athletes by Russia’s anti-doping agency last September informing them of the decision to ban its use."
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As a non-sports person I look with head-shaking mystification at some of the problems humans create for themselves.
Why ban any drugs at all? Other forms of performance-enhancement are permitted - training, practice, study of tactics, observation of opponents, glucose drinks, etc.
Just let them all cheat if they want to - it's only a game. :)
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>> As a non-sports person I look with head-shaking mystification at some of the problems humans
>> create for themselves.
>>
>> Why ban any drugs at all? Other forms of performance-enhancement are permitted - training, practice,
>> study of tactics, observation of opponents, glucose drinks, etc.
>>
>> Just let them all cheat if they want to - it's only a game. :)
>>
During the late eighties and early nineties twelve cyclists died in their sleep after they had been taking EPO, which had turned their blood to treacle and it clotted during the night when their pulse rate was at it's lowest. When the reasons became clear others who had been overdoing it had to set their alarms at two hourly intervals during the night so they could get up and walk round to raise their heart rate. Decriminalising all such substances means a chemical arms race would ensue with ever more powerful and dangerous drugs being used. Now, if your son or daughter were to show a talent at sport they would have two choices. Either risk their lives trying to compete or walk away from a good career and let the drug takers win. Would you really want that?
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>> Either risk their lives trying to compete or walk away from a good career and let the drug takers win. Would you really want that?
Yes. Sod the career. Keep the nippers more or less healthy surely?
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According to the manufacturer of this drug, it's usually given for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. It can be prescribed up to 3 times a year. It is not intended to be taken for 10 years.
She took it because it was believed to be a performance enhancer that was not banned. If she'd stopped taking it when told it was going to be banned, she'd not be in this bother.
www.eurosport.co.uk/tennis/sharapova-drug-meldonium-is-only-used-for-4-6-weeks-not-10-years_sto5301471/story.shtml
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 8 Mar 16 at 16:35
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>>If she'd stopped taking it when told it was going to be banned, she'd not be in this bother.
And for that she is entirely to blame and needs to take what's coming.
I don't agree that there should be any impact on her career / achievements prior to that point though.
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>> >>If she'd stopped taking it when told it was going to be banned, she'd not be in this bother.
>>
>> And for that she is entirely to blame and needs to take what's coming.
>>
Please return £200K + won at the Australian.
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Was that since January? If so, then absolutely.
I don't really give much credence to all her excuses.
At the absolute best she failed in her duty to ensure that she complied with the rules. At worst, she did it on purpose.
And whether she mean to do it or not, she *did* break the rules.
[I cannot see the relevance of whether or not the drug was prescribed. Its a banned substance, surely an absolute offence insofar as 'guilt' is concerned?]
So, take back / disqualify / remove / whatever anything that was within in the drug-banned period. Ban her without doubt, but set the period depending on how much the panel / judge / whatever believe her story and mitigation.
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Drugs test announcement polarises opinions
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35754677
How much will failed drug test cost Sharapova?. Any estimate before seeing the answer ?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35755140
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>>
>>
>> So, take back / disqualify / remove / whatever anything that was within in the
>> drug-banned period. Ban her without doubt, but set the period depending on how much the panel / judge / whatever believe her story and mitigation.
>>
>>
Four years if you're found to have taken the drug knowingly, two if they accept whatever cock and bull story you come up with about accidental use.
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>
>> During the late eighties and early nineties twelve cyclists died in their sleep after they
>> had been taking EPO, which had turned their blood to treacle and it clotted during
>> the night when their pulse rate was at it's lowest. When the reasons became clear
>> others who had been overdoing it had to set their alarms at two hourly intervals
>> during the night so they could get up and walk round to raise their heart
>> rate. Decriminalising all such substances means a chemical arms race would ensue with ever more
>> powerful and dangerous drugs being used. Now, if your son or daughter were to show
>> a talent at sport they would have two choices. Either risk their lives trying to
>> compete or walk away from a good career and let the drug takers win. Would
>> you really want that?
Cycling was a dirty sport for many decades, it was known to be a dirty sport for decades, it was accepted as a dirty sport for decades. It even made russian athletics look like a harmless sweet shop. As such its no comparison to drug use/abuse in other sports.
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Either risk their lives trying to
>> compete or walk away from a good career and let the drug takers win. Would
>> you really want that?
>>
Yes. There are lots of doubtless well-paid dangerous careers I'd be glad they didn't follow.
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Apologies for the late reply on this, but let me give some of my opinion, based on a few years in sports journalism.
Ok, we have a 'performance enhancing drug'.
Sharapova says she's been taking it for years due to a history in the family of...
How it works: You whack in a TUC - Therapeutic Use Certificate - which explains why you have to use certain drugs. This is pretty common, especially for those with asthma.
I know a few footballers who go through the process annually. The governing body reserves the right to do a full check to see that it isn't Bulldust.
For followers of English football, a certain Shaun Bartlett (ex Charlton) had one.
Now we get to some interesting stuff - am Immediate Use scenario.
Another Saffer footballer - one Mark Fish - fell through a glass coffee table at home, and lacerated his back badly. Massive ambulance gig, hospital, emergency surgery (Fish is a robust lad, and the surgeon said if he wasn't, there's be no chance) pump in a few pints of blood, sew him up etc.
But also pumped him full of drugs to stimulate healing etc.
He gets back to playing status, but still has to take the 'banned' substance. All good, says the FA.
Rugby - a few years back, three lads in the touring Bok side to the UK were caught. Turns out the supplement they were taking in SA was different to the same-branded supplement they bought in the UK.
Slap on wrist. But sent home.
It is a dicey thing - and as we are a motoring collective, let me give an example compared to D&D - they can't prosecute/ban for 'presence'. They can only ban for excessive presence.
For example, Caffeine is a no-no. But to get banned you'd have to drink 30 red bulls in the hour before the test.
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As Sarapova claims she was taking the drug for about 10 years, surely it would have shown up in normal drugs testing up to the end of last year? It would at least indicate she was telling the truth if tests show this up.
But it's still difficult to accept that neither she or her management team missed such an important update to the banned drugs listings.
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>> But it's still difficult to accept that neither she or her management team missed such
>> an important update to the banned drugs listings.
>>
Again, had she done a TUC back in September, it'd be a no-brainer.
I get WADA press releases 2 or 3 times a week.
Surely the 'management team' would be subscribing?
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She had no medical requirement to take that drug.
She took it/was advised to take it as it may have marginally improved her exercise tolerance (equivalent of a 'legal high' in sport, now an illegal high).
She was entirely responsible for taking the medication and its impact on her suitability to play.
She's an idiot.
She deserves to get humped along with all the other cheats.
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>>She deserves to get humped along
If that is the case, can I just indicate my willingness to perform the task? Just in the interest of justice, you understand.
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>>
>>
>> If that is the case, can I just indicate my willingness to perform the task?
>> Just in the interest of justice, you understand.
>>
Join the queue.
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"Join the queue."
Is her mother around?
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...performance enhancing drugs required.......?
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www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35752114
Maria Sharapova showed 'courage' over failed drugs test - Serena Williams
Oh really ! I prefer - she was told what to do, where to go and remember the words and presentation.,
"Most people were surprised and shocked, but happy that she was upfront and very honest," said Williams,
She did not have any option. She had already said she would not challenge the B sample ( to help her pleas for a lighter punishment ? )
Meanwhile, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev says he expects Sharapova to play at the 2016 Olympics in Rio starting on 5 August.
"This is just a load of nonsense," he told the TASS news agency.
"The sportsmen take what they are given by the physiotherapists and by the doctors.
However, we will need to see how this will develop."
The second video clip shows how easy it is to check online for banned substances , if you care to look!!!
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Is alcohol banned in sport?
Remember Bill Werbeniuk, who drank pint after pint after pint during a match? That was one hell of a drug-enhancer, he couldn't hold a cue till he'd had a skinful.
Oh, those were the days.
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In fact, he could - and did!- write off his pints as a legitimate business expense!
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I do remember Werbeniuk. I seemed to recall he took beta blockers as well, which he did apparently -
Werbeniuk was noted for the copious amounts of alcohol he consumed before and during matches – at least six pints before a match and then one pint for each frame. In total, he drank between 40 and 50 pints of lager per day. Doctors advised Werbeniuk to drink alcohol to counteract a familial benign essential tremor. Later in his career he also took propranolol, a beta blocker, to cope with the effects of his alcohol consumption on his heart.
Some of Werbeniuk's most famous feats of drinking include: 76 cans of lager during a game with John Spencer in Australia in the 1970s; 43 pints of lager in a snooker match/drinking contest against Scotsman Eddie Sinclair in which, after Sinclair had passed out following his 42nd pint, Werbeniuk was reported to say "I'm away to the bar now for a proper drink"; 28 pints of lager and 16 whiskies over the course of 11 frames during a match against Nigel Bond, in January 1990 – after which Werbeniuk then consumed an entire bottle of Scotch to "drown his sorrows" after losing the match.
Quite unbelievable that he could play at that level even allowing that he built up a very high tolerance for the alcohol.
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Interestingly in the Guardian obit for Werbeniuk it says "At one stage, the inland revenue allowed his spending on lager as a tax deductible expense".
He was on benefits by the time he died apparently.
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www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35768294
Sportspeople will die in action as a result of being denied meldonium, according to the heart drug's inventor.
Meldonium, also known as mildronate, was developed to treat diabetes and various heart-related diseases but was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) in January.
"We will see many deaths on the field," Ivars Calvins told BBC Radio 5 live.
"Athletes who use mildronate will not be able to do it in the future and will be not more protected.
The Latvian added: "This drug was on the market for 32 years - as a self-protective agent - and now suddenly it becomes forbidden.
"You could see a sudden death in the sports events sometimes."
IMO What a load of PR cobblers.
IIRC Athletes are given approval to take banned drugs IF the circumstances show it is medical requirement.
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Shame the drug didn't stop her making that horrible shrieking noise every time she hit the ball, don't really like tennis but I definitely couldn't stand watching while she was making that distracting sound, can't believe her opponents didn't find it off putting, I always thought it was done on purpose!
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Racquet manufacturer Head has questioned the decision to ban the use of meldonium, as they continue to stand by Maria Sharapova.
"We question Wada's decision to add meldonium to its banned substances list in the manner it did; we believe the correct action by Wada would have been to impose a dosage limitation only.
"In the circumstances we would encourage Wada to release scientific studies which validates their claim that meldonium should be a banned substance."
Britain's Andy Murray, who is also sponsored by Head, said the manufacturer had taken a "strange stance".
I wonder if Any Murray with his stance against drugs will soon be using a different make of Racquet ?
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>>"You could see a sudden death in the sports events sometimes."
Excellent. It will be just like going to the Roman gladiatorial contests. Sport will be worth watching again if there's a reasonable chance of several competitors dying during a tennis match.
Will it become acceptable to have substitutes in the doubles matches?
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Drug Cheating in Tennis? - Roger.
