Doping Again !

Jaffa · Challenger level

RE: Doping Again !

Etienne · Club Coach

It would also have been better given how quickly the "medical" explanation is dissolving, as the makers say that it is only supposed to be taken for 4-6 weeks, not 10 years.

I have some sympathy for eighteen year old Sharapova, fighting hard to make her name, coming from a fundamentally corrupt sporting culture and trusting someone, probably close to her, who said hey this is legal and it'll give you more endurance.

I've no sympathy at all for her right now. She's made more money than she'll ever need, and won the biggest prizes in the game. She didn't need to push to the bounds of legality, and beyond.

philwrig · Hall of fame

The question is if Maria has been taking it for the wrong reasons, how many other tennis players are taking something similar. Another thing also just occurred to me, she may have been the only person in her team who knew she was taking this medication, hence the reason they missed the change to the rules this year.

Also alot of athletes take some sort of supplement e.g vitamin supplements, should they be banned as well.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Phil, I think it's almost impossible that no one else knew in her team what medication she was taking.

The authorities are always playing catch-up, their list will never be 100% correct, so others may well be taking something similar (and half may be taking A1's beetroot juice) but if it's not banned then it's not banned. But this one was (recently).

However, I do feel there should be some sanction for the doctors (not sure quite what, and if it's internal to a country that doesn't want to cooperate, not sure what you can do).

But if Maria was taking a drug for 10 years that is intended to be used for 4-6 weeks, that surely cannot be good for her health. Maybe downright dangerous. I know the final decision is hers but doctors have a sort of fiduciary role, a position of trust. And it's not right if they are not 'punished' too.

indiana · Tennis legend

philwrig wrote:
The question is if Maria has been taking it for the wrong reasons, how many other tennis players are taking something similar. Another thing also just occurred to me, she may have been the only person in her team who knew she was taking this medication, hence the reason they missed the change to the rules this year.

Also alot of athletes take some sort of supplement e.g vitamin supplements, should they be banned as well.

Now that would be about the ultimate in foolishness to be the only one in her team that knew she was taking the medication when it's so important to keep to rules re what can be taken. I would suspect that she's not so foolish. But absolutely no excuse if she is. However it's come about she's taken a banned substance.

Yes, athletes who take supplements, medication etc on the prescribed banned list should be banned. Plenty clearly are not on the banned list.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Just to change the subject a little, hasn't been a bad 24 hours for the manufacturer's of Meldonium, free product endorsement by one of the preeminent sports people in the world.

-- Edited by philwrig on Tuesday 8th of March 2016 10:49:02 PM

Strongbow · All-time great

What puzzles me is why a drug that has been around for decades is suddenly seen as a major issue. WADA must have known about it twenty years ago - why are they getting busy now?

DF · Tennis legend

Good question

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Because a lot of athletes were using it, they were given due notice that essentially there are no medical grounds for an elite athlete to be taking it. Some athletes were daft enough to continue doing so and got caught. Whether it was arrogance, I am too big for the to take me down or stupidity I don't know.

There are no excuses, Maria's admission is an acceptance of that, she was taking a performance enhancing drug to cheat her opponent dupe her sponsors and cheat those paying to watch her play.

I remain a stalwart of he Judy Oakes fan club.

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Wednesday 9th of March 2016 12:21:06 AM

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Strongbow wrote:
What puzzles me is why a drug that has been around for decades is suddenly seen as a major issue. WADA must have known about it twenty years ago - why are they getting busy now?

Somewhere in the reams written about this I read that its presence came up as an incidental in a few drugs test reports. I believe it said WADA then sponsored some US universities to specifically do some randomised testing of samples and compare it with usage of the drug in the general population. Of the athletes samples tested, it was present in something like 8% of samples which was hugely over general usage and so WADA put it on their watch list. During the universities' tests it was found predominantly but not exclusively in European athletes (not recognised by US Food And Drugs so not so easily obtainable outside Europe) and in over 700 Russian samples.

Edit: Grammar (hopefully before SC saw it!)

-- Edited by The Optimist on Wednesday 9th of March 2016 09:38:09 AM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Strongbow wrote:
What puzzles me is why a drug that has been around for decades is suddenly seen as a major issue. WADA must have known about it twenty years ago - why are they getting busy now?

Yes, I agree.

If you believe the tabloid press, it's a drug that was widely used by Russian soldiers during the 1980s to increase endurance and stamina. So why did they wait for it to show up as 'incidental' in drug tests? Why not know about it anyway?

I wonder if they have any Russians on the committee at WADA.....if not, they should.....

I do not accept, however, Oakie, that Maria should be villainised for taking performance enhancing drugs up till December 2105. Only afterwards. As has been said here, in various ways, almost all athletes take performance-enhancing supplements/drugs. Beetroot juice is just a drug. Like any other. And no 'normal' person would take the huge quantities/concentration that A1's members take. And that's not picking on A1. There's are tons of other things apart from beetroot juice. (I know one player who takes large quantities of a natural anti-inflammatories on a daily basis - he says its stops all the micro inflammations you get after training/playing and so you can train/play for longer and better - it's no different). If they are legal, they're legal. If not, they're not.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Well said, CD :)

philwrig · Hall of fame

Apparently Sascha Zverev is also taking Melodium with doctors permission. The plot thickens.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

There are lots of issues here, we are talking about a drug that takes a concerted amount of effort to get from a physician who either has to be duped or complicit in sourcing the drug to treat a mythical ailment and then altering the dosage to a non therapeutic bespoke dosing schedule designed to enhance performance. That is illegal in many ways. That's cheating, indeed it's putting a significant amount of effort into cheating. Buying beetroot from the grocer is not, slightly deluded when your chomping back the snickers but definitely not illegal.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

But Oakland, they're not buying veg from the grocer, and eating an extra portion, because they like veg.
They're taking powdered / gel capsule concentrate veg, in high quantities, that you order online, from specialist providers, and taking it not because they it tastes good but because they think it will enhance their fitness and performance. It's not very different. It's all drugs.
I agree that the doctors have a lot to answer for but when you see how big the non-regulated so-called 'natural' drugs market is, and how much damage/effects they can have (which is a whole other topic really), I wouldn't draw a big line. Apart from the biggest line - of course - being that beetroot concentrate is legal and that Melodium (now, but only now) is not.