Why would she only wait until the news came out and THEN do a video talking about being honest and transparent? I wish she would have done a vid right away about "Hey guys, I got popped for Acne Meds that don't even boost performance, how crazy is that?" That would have been the way to handle it and still claim to be all about transparency.
Her getting popped for a non performance enhancing drug is some good content is pretty interesting. I just wish she would have talked about it when it was happening. Usually best to get out in front of these things anyway. I do wish her well going forward, I am sure she will do great things, she's a runner through and through!
Because she isn't honest and because she isn't transparent. If her ban had been kept quiet she would never have disclosed it. This is all damage control - not one ounce of honesty or transparency.
This is the frustrating thing for me. She was all about being “transparent” and even had press coverage about how “transparent” she is and now… she’s the opposite of transparency. Some things in her story don’t seem to add up for me TBH. Like she said she looked up spironolactone to make sure it wouldn’t impact performance and she claims that the internet said it would neither help nor harm performance. But… it suppresses test so like others have said here, it’s like an anti-PED. And also she looked up the drug but didn’t figure out it was on the banned list? Google “spironolactone sports” and the fact that it is banned by WADA is the first thing that comes up.
Such a fresh, nuanced take by Sage, who has always acted like he has a hardline stance. This really is simple, she was using a masking agent while she was also ramping up training, getting sponsorships, and trying to get back into competing. We can all imagine why she would be using a masking agent. She would have been competing but for some injuries. She could have got a TUE but didn't.
I'm curious, is Allie still over in France hanging out with the runners at UTMB as a part of her sponsorship with NNormal? I'm sure Camilla will also shy away from saying anything negative about Allie. Which one of them wants to piss off Kilian.
I dismissed this as being nothing until I watched her video. She says researched the drug and then went to an "online dermatologist" to get a specific prescription for that drug. She specifically says she researched the drug to find out if it would benefit athletic performance. So I googled "spironolactone and athletic performance' and this came up instantly at the very top of the search:
Diuretics can promote the excretion of fluids, which can be used to excrete other banned substances in the body, such as performance-enhancing drugs or illegal drugs. By using spironolactone, athletes may attempt to hide or obscure the presence of these substances during drug testing.
How did she not know it was a diuretic and a masking agent if she researched the drug? It seems very weird to me as any even cursory internet search tells you this drug is a diuretic and masking agent.
I did the same and whatever combination of spironolactone and performance or athlete I put in you immediately got loads of results about it being banned.It would be impossible not to see them.
I am not saying I think she she is guilty of doping but something is clearly not right here.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Agree 100% with this. I've gone back and forth on how I feel about this, and I'm actually surprised so many people on these boards are sympathetic given the hardline stance they've taken on other athletes.
She's likely a casualty of ignorance and oversight on her part, of which there is no excuse. But unless USADA has a way of differentiating the source of the drug (acne cream vs whatever form it'd be in as a masking agent), the ban is entirely fair.
Also curious to hear the trail world's take. With UTMB this week, I feel like I haven't seen anyone talk about this.
Allie doesn't fit that mold right now and this all looks like a silly and honest mistake. This is a very minor infraction and basically more of a TUE issue and a slap on the wrist (rather than an actual PED case). They should probably go after more people that are racing competitively right now.
Sage, how does Allie not fit the mold? She was in a down-phase of her career, after time off, and needed to bounce back. Makes perfect sense to me timing wise. Just because she wasn't PRing left and right doesn't mean she's innocent.
Also the deflection on the THC point in your other post is just bizarre. Spiro is a known masking agent. THC is....... THC.
Nope. Don't believe her. You don't go on a new acne drug without looking it up if you're a pro. Simple as
Exactly. If you're a professional athlete who has been tested on numerous occasions, how hard is it to just google a drug that you have been prescribed to see if it is banned? It took me about 5 seconds to figure this out. If someone is a sub-elite runner with a full time job, who has never been tested before, and suddenly wins some prize money at a road race and tests positive for a banned acne med, then this would be an understandable mistake for that person to have made. I am not going to go so far as to insist that she was using it as a masking agent, but this was not some over the counter med that she was took; this is a drug that is only available by prescription. It's shocking that a pro wouldn't think to check if a prescribed drug is banned.
Exactly. If you're a professional athlete who has been tested on numerous occasions, how hard is it to just google a drug that you have been prescribed to see if it is banned? It took me about 5 seconds to figure this out. If someone is a sub-elite runner with a full time job, who has never been tested before, and suddenly wins some prize money at a road race and tests positive for a banned acne med, then this would be an understandable mistake for that person to have made. I am not going to go so far as to insist that she was using it as a masking agent, but this was not some over the counter med that she was took; this is a drug that is only available by prescription. It's shocking that a pro wouldn't think to check if a prescribed drug is banned.
The thing that really does it for me is she specifically said she googled spironolactone to check if it was performance enhancing and found it was not.
Well I challenge anyone to ask that sort of question on google and not see loads of results saying it was banned!
I actually quite like her having watched her Youtube channel and she seems to have been through a lot but this just does not add up.
Exactly. If you're a professional athlete who has been tested on numerous occasions, how hard is it to just google a drug that you have been prescribed to see if it is banned? It took me about 5 seconds to figure this out. If someone is a sub-elite runner with a full time job, who has never been tested before, and suddenly wins some prize money at a road race and tests positive for a banned acne med, then this would be an understandable mistake for that person to have made. I am not going to go so far as to insist that she was using it as a masking agent, but this was not some over the counter med that she was took; this is a drug that is only available by prescription. It's shocking that a pro wouldn't think to check if a prescribed drug is banned.
The thing that really does it for me is she specifically said she googled spironolactone to check if it was performance enhancing and found it was not.
Well I challenge anyone to ask that sort of question on google and not see loads of results saying it was banned!
I actually quite like her having watched her Youtube channel and she seems to have been through a lot but this just does not add up.
I mean, I guess if she just googled spironolactone and side effects, she could have missed it. However, she said she looked up the drug's impact on athletic performance, so any type of internet search for spironolactone and sports, or running, endurance, athletics etc. would immediately yield results showing her that it was banned. Something just seems weird about this.
Gwen Berry got a suspension on the same day for the same drug. Seems she also made the same mistake, just didn't get that TUE. Obviously if you believe Alli then you also believe Gwen, just as oversight to get a TUE.
4 mo time served seems indicative of how sus USADA is of her? Is there a smaller sentence?
Of note, Aldactone works by DEEEcreasing testosterone! Small tidbit that does fit in with everyone's conspiracy here. Its used for acne in older women and would be a terrible performance enhancer. Possibly the worst ever.
What are you talking about? So you do not understand what a "masking agent" is? Nobody is saying people take this drug to increase performance.
Guess who also got popped for taking this? Cris Cyborg. Google her picture and history with steroids - do you really think she has been suffering from too little testosterone in her career?
That is a horrible take. If you were actually going to use it as a masking agent you would get a TUE first. This isn’t some mastermind plan.
Well, not necessarily. You have to apply before you start taking the drug, which takes time, and just having a prescription from an online dermatologist doesn't mean your TUE will be accepted. Not every TUE application gets accepted (ask Molly); and for acne where there are other medications that are not masking agents to treat a "vanity condition" (not a life or death medical condition), it's far from a sure thing she'd get a TUE. On the other hand, forgetting to apply for a TUE lets you use the drug as a masking agent with a much better excuse than a burrito to get a 4 month instead of a 4 year ban.
I'm not saying she was using it as a masking agent, the whole story is just weird. And unlike Sage, I find the use of masking agents very troubling and normally think they are equally serious as being caught for the underlying drug being masked.
Its all said and done now, decisions have been made and the ban served so it all doesn't matter and I will accept it was an oversight. But, for me, her story is very problematic.
Ask Molly? Has anyone ever gotten a TUE for adderall, which is only illegal in competition. Doubtful. Posters here seem to think you can also get a TUE for testosterone. This isn’t the same thing at all.
We are all relieved to hear you will accept this as an oversight though. I for one will sleep better knowing your decision.
Because she isn't honest and because she isn't transparent. If her ban had been kept quiet she would never have disclosed it. This is all damage control - not one ounce of honesty or transparency.
This is the frustrating thing for me. She was all about being “transparent” and even had press coverage about how “transparent” she is and now… she’s the opposite of transparency. Some things in her story don’t seem to add up for me TBH. Like she said she looked up spironolactone to make sure it wouldn’t impact performance and she claims that the internet said it would neither help nor harm performance. But… it suppresses test so like others have said here, it’s like an anti-PED. And also she looked up the drug but didn’t figure out it was on the banned list? Google “spironolactone sports” and the fact that it is banned by WADA is the first thing that comes up.
I don't understand how an athlete would look up a drug, but not look it up on banned substances lists. That the athlete should themselves judge whether a drug is performance enhancing is such a backwards way of thinking that it doesn't help her story at all. Its not taking stuff that helps you that is prohibited (food is great for performance), its a list of methods and substances that are prohibited to use. I had given her the benefit of doubt before I read that.
I don't understand how an athlete would look up a drug, but not look it up on banned substances lists. That the athlete should themselves judge whether a drug is performance enhancing is such a backwards way of thinking that it doesn't help her story at all. Its not taking stuff that helps you that is prohibited (food is great for performance), its a list of methods and substances that are prohibited to use. I had given her the benefit of doubt before I read that.
My thoughts exactly.
Also my understanding is athletes have it drilled into them to check everything they take even everyday over the counter medicines on this list let aloe a prescription only drug.
I don't understand how an athlete would look up a drug, but not look it up on banned substances lists. That the athlete should themselves judge whether a drug is performance enhancing is such a backwards way of thinking that it doesn't help her story at all. Its not taking stuff that helps you that is prohibited (food is great for performance), its a list of methods and substances that are prohibited to use. I had given her the benefit of doubt before I read that.
My thoughts exactly.
Also my understanding is athletes have it drilled into them to check everything they take even everyday over the counter medicines on this list let aloe a prescription only drug.
when I was doing races with occasional testing as a junior cyclists I did not have a coach or doctor for that. I actually checked everything I took against the printed out list diligently. So for me it seems impossible you could take something by accident. then I remember NCAA does no testing . lol
Do you see any red flags? Strange jump in times? Anything? Meanwhile she does have a documented ED and maybe her share of emotional issues. She was negligent and she got a four month ban for what was clearly deemed a minor infraction. She was culpable but no point trying to make more of it than there is. If it was a true performance enhancer like EPO or testosterone then that would be a different story. But it wasn't. Athletes need to be on top of things, but sometimes a mistake is a mistake.
The joke on this thread is that doping apologists are trying to seize on this as a deflection.
Do you see any red flags? Strange jump in times? Anything? Meanwhile she does have a documented ED and maybe her share of emotional issues. She was negligent and she got a four month ban for what was clearly deemed a minor infraction. She was culpable but no point trying to make more of it than there is. If it was a true performance enhancer like EPO or testosterone then that would be a different story. But it wasn't. Athletes need to be on top of things, but sometimes a mistake is a mistake.
The joke on this thread is that doping apologists are trying to seize on this as a deflection.
if substances that can mask real ped use are not banned and punished hard then the whole idea of testing becomes obsolete. Such the ban is way too short. masking substances need to carry the same penalty as peds or anyone will use them and take the "minor" infraction.
“Why do currently we adhere to a “one strike and you’re out” policy? First, because science shows that numerous performing-enhancing substances benefit their users beyond the length of negative judgements currently issued by administrative organizations. Second, we feel that such an extreme form of cheating is an absolute departure from the spirit of our sport and the intent of our sport’s competitions. iRunFar believes that convicted dopers should not be allowed to return to sporting competitions.”
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