Bobrova and Soloviev out of Worlds

[leafygreens]

This means no Russian on the Oly podium, for the first time ever.

I'm no expert, but don't many skaters get injections (with legal drugs) for pain relief before performances? I remember a few skaters talking about it

Could this be cortisone shots? These don't have any effect on the heart, just joint relief. I believe the problem with Meldonium is it gives you better stamina, not reduces pain. I can see why it is illegal. I'm just curious how Bobrova had it in her if she swears she stopped taking it.

 

[Xela M]

does tennis take the doping as seriously as (exclusively amateur) olympic sports?

I'm surprised there aren't more doping scandals in tennis. It's a murderous endurance sport

 

[love_skate2011]

This means no Russian on the Oly podium, for the first time ever.

like they had a chance in Pyongchang for a medal

 

[Xela M]

Trankov defends Mozer& their doctor in Twitter , even if they were not blamed in press by anyone - very weird situation.

I feel so sad about both Katya and Maria

It's a response to Dima's earlier instagram post

 

[DaveRocks]

Seriously? Do you know any elite athletes?

You certainly asked the wrong person that question.

 

[Ka3sha]

It's a response to Dima's earlier instagram post

I understand
Still I find its weird, though it's a tipical Trankov's behavior (not to keep silence)

 

[Xela M]

You certainly asked the wrong person that question.

Sorry if she's an elite athlete herself, but I've known a few athletes in different sports and they all took whatever supplements were legal and could enhance performance

 

[Xela M]

I understand
Still I find its weird, though it's a tipical Trankov's behavior (not to keep silence)

Funny thing is, he keeps going on about how dignified Sharapova behaved

 

[Vash01]

Oh come on... if you're an elite athlete as high profile as Sharapova it is EXTREMELY weird for her team not to check the updated WADA list because her career depends on it!

She had been taking that drug for the last 10 years. I suspect she was rather 'relaxed' thinking that she was not taking any of the illegal drugs. She did admit that she made a huge mistake. Looks like she will miss the 2016 Olympics.

 

[adelia]

Trankov defends Mozer& their doctor in Twitter , even if they were not blamed in press by anyone - very weird situation.

There were insinuations in Vaitsekhovskaya's article.

 

[Xela M]

She had been taking that drug for the last 10 years. I suspect she was rather 'relaxed' thinking that she was not taking any of the illegal drugs. She did admit that she made a huge mistake. Looks like she will miss the 2016 Olympics.

I find Sharapova's story more bizarre than Bobrova's. If her team just forgot to check the WADA list she needs to fire them all

 

[Eladola]

Funny thing is, he keeps going on about how dignified Sharapova behaved

I just watched her press conferance, I don't know if it's BS or not but i do feel for her, she's very humbled

 

[taz'smum]

I find Sharapova's story more bizarre than Bobrova's. If her team just forgot to check the WADA list she needs to fire them all

Having had to check Wada emails myself for newly banned substances for the athlete I was helping, I don't find her story strange at all.
I am a responsible, mature adult, who pays great attention to detail, yet I feel I too could've missed this newly banned substance, as it is difficult to know that the name you know a drug by is the same drug as is listed under an unfamiliar name.
So even checking the list thoroughly, I might well have missed it!

 

[SmallFairy]

I'm so devastated, I have no words. B&S are such nice people. I know I'm biased cause I love them, but I can't believe this is anything else than a mistake, it makes no sense after all they've been through.

Lots of skaters are showing their support, reposting Nikita's IG:Stolbova, Bazarova, Radionova, Medvedeva, Sotnikova, Kovtun, Moris K. - "we are with you", "always with you", "we support you". (Sorry for no link, I'm on my phone)

 

[Tinami Amori]

These Russians are cheaters. I told you and every gets all "PC" . They are cheaters!!!!!

Clintons must be crypto-Russians.

 

[Xela M]

Having had to check Wada emails myself for newly banned substances for the athlete I was helping, I don't find her story strange at all.
I am a responsible, mature adult, who pays great attention to detail, yet I feel I too could've missed this newly banned substance, as it is difficult to know that the name you know a drug by is the same drug as is listed under an unfamiliar name.
So even checking the list thoroughly, I might well have missed it!

I understand all that, but this is Sharapova we're talking about. She's one of the richest athletes in the world. She shouldn't be responsible for reading her own emails and checking the list of banned substances herself.

 

[ballettmaus]

Did you even read the story before accusing the Russian fed of cheating in this case? Bobrova took the drug while it was legal. It became illegal on Jan. 1st of This year.

It is perfectly OK to make a reference to other feds, IMO because it relates to the story we are discussing. Some athletes do violate the rules and deserve to be punished, regardless of their country, but when an athlete takes it as medicine for pain, healing from injury, etc. that should be taken into account. A blanket ban like this is just not right, IMO.

Because no athlete would abuse that and make up injuries which would allow to take certain drugs... A blanket ban is the only thing that works. (And personally, I think it would be unfair if she got any leniency after Kostner was banned for two years for a false statement made after a split-second decision for a man she was in love with at the time and who she urged to come clean afterwards)

 

[leafygreens]

Why is this substance even illegal? It sounds like it's some sort of treatment for the respiratory system?

Also, are there ever exceptions to these banned substances? Like if someone has bad asthma, it's common to take an inhaled cortico steroid to control the symptoms. Or if you have ADHD, the most commonly prescribed medications are stimulants, so if an athlete was in school and took medication for class/homework/studying or even driving, it would be in their systems even if they didn't take it before training.

Are people with medical conditions simply forced to find alternative substances for treatment? I didn't realize how many items were on that list...

Sharapova has just announced that she failed a test at the Australian Open for the same thing. She says she was originally prescribed it for heart issues 10 years ago.

I don't get how if you have a legit medical need for this, you can be banned for it. Isn't there some loophole for doctor's notes?

Oh come on... if you're an elite athlete as high profile as Sharapova it is EXTREMELY weird for her team not to check the updated WADA list because her career depends on it!

All the more reason to believe she didn't get the memo. So how WADA was communicating this is going to be important.

IMO they should extend the deadline. Use this one as a warning to stop taking it.

That being said, Re: Bobrova, I would not be letting doctors inject me with a cocktail of who knows what. It seems too big of a risk.

 

[Garden Kitty]

I don't get how if you have a legit medical need for this, you can be banned for it. Isn't there some loophole for doctor's notes?

WADA provides a process to apply for Therapeutic Use Exemptions for use of otherwise prohibited substances that an athlete needs for approved medical purposes.

 

[leafygreens]

WADA provides a process to apply for Therapeutic Use Exemptions for use of otherwise prohibited substances that an athlete needs for approved medical purposes.

They should retroactively unban Sharapova if she can meet the requirements. She shouldn't be banned for life because she didn't get the paperwork in before Jan. 1.

 

[vesperholly]

sudoepinephrin (?)

Very close! Pseudoepinephrine

 

[mollymgr]

While I feel sorry for Bobrova, it appears that she had some knowledge of it since fall. She/her team should have taken all the precautions. Considering how harshly Kostner was punished on account of her ex-boyfriend, I can't see any leniency being granted in this case.

 

[Xela M]

It's openly being discussed on the Russian feeds that Bobrova's case wasn't any "mistake" and that there were people who benefited from this. It was apparently a very high dosage - higher than she would have taken normally when she was taking it last year

 

[oleada]

I just watched her press conferance, I don't know if it's BS or not but i do feel for her, she's very humbled

Yeah, I thought she was very humble/dignified - as much as one can be in this situation.

 

[BittyBug]

It's openly being discussed on the Russian feeds that Bobrova's case wasn't any "mistake" and that there were people who benefited from this. It was apparently a very high dosage - higher than she would have taken normally when she was taking it last year

And the day keeps getting stranger.

 

[casken]

While I feel sorry for Bobrova, it appears that she had some knowledge of it since fall. She/her team should have taken all the precautions. Considering how harshly Kostner was punished on account of her ex-boyfriend, I can't see any leniency being granted in this case.

I was thinking of Berezhnaya's ban that prevented them from skating at worlds in 2000. It was a banned cold/flu medication that I believe she took under her doctors supervision. That was discovered after Euros too.

You would think after that, Russian skaters, coaches, and the Russian skating fed would have more precaution about stuff like this, but I guess not.

 

[dinakt]

Once again, it is indicated for heart disease - chest pain and heart attack. Otherwise, it's a performance enhancing substance (see my original post earlier). And there is no evidence that has been presented that Bobrova had this prescribed for a heart condition. She did not appear to have any medical reason to take this; therefore, her use of it (recall that she admitted to using it last fall) was likely for performance enhancement.

As for other conditions like asthma, there are many drugs available for treatment (and methods of administration) that don't violate these rules. And I don't get the impression that this drugs was used by athletes for medical indications considering someone who has a heart attack or angina is highly unlikely to be a Olympic athlete.

I respect your expertise. Two things to consider though-
Though Bobrova is responsible for her body, the system in Russia these days is largely state-run, so it is likely the doctors fill the vials and the athletes accept what they do. I am sure it is understood that it is all legal, but the possibility of Bobrova going over the attending physician's head to enhance her performance is not that likely. And, considering that the drug was outlawed only weeks before the Europeans, the wrong mixing, or labeling, of drugs is more likely than usual.
The drug is for the heart, but is used for other purposes? Inderal comes to mind, a drug for the heart condition that a large percentage of performing musicians use, absolutely legally, with prescription, in miniscule doses, to mitigate anxious tremors so common in performance. It is widely used for public speaking, as well. It is also prescribed to prevent recurrent migranes, yet another totally different usage. So when people say "heart medication", I do not automatically think it is detrimental to an athlete's health. Depending on dosage, frequency, other circumstances, it might be, or might not be.

 

[Vash01]

Because no athlete would abuse that and make up injuries which would allow to take certain drugs... A blanket ban is the only thing that works. (And personally, I think it would be unfair if she got any leniency after Kostner was banned for two years for a false statement made after a split-second decision for a man she was in love with at the time and who she urged to come clean afterwards)

While I feel sorry for Bobrova, it appears that she had some knowledge of it since fall. She/her team should have taken all the precautions. Considering how harshly Kostner was punished on account of her ex-boyfriend, I can't see any leniency being granted in this case.

Kostner's situation was different. She was not banned for using drugs. Hers was a legal issue (lying about her knowledge of her boyfriend's drug use- IIRC). Just because Kostner was punished doesn't mean all the other athletes should be punished too.

I see the point about making it a blanket ban; otherwise it would be tough to sift through every individual's specific situation. Still, I feel there must be some way to differentiate between an honest mistake and an intentional abuse, and at least have two sets of penalties.

 

[analia]

Is there regulation against people who dope others?

 

[Vash01]

It's openly being discussed on the Russian feeds that Bobrova's case wasn't any "mistake" and that there were people who benefited from this. It was apparently a very high dosage - higher than she would have taken normally when she was taking it last year

Is there proof or is this just fans making up stories? Don't get me wrong. I do feel sorry for Bobrova and Soloviev, and I do feel that the punishment may be too harsh if it was an innocent mistake (I tend to believe it was just a mistake). Unfortunately it's not going to change the outcome.

However, if this is the Russian version of the 1994 'whack', then the guilty party should be punished and B&S should be reinstated. I doubt this happy ending will happen though.