To play Devil's Advocate, what if they conduct a 6-12 month investigation and find that (1) the test was contaminated and therefore invalid or (2) they determine that she was 100% not at fault and she should have been allowed to compete? There is no way to go back in time and give her the opportunity she deserves. They are allowing her to compete and win a medal; they are not saying that the medal may not be taken away at a later date. Sure, it sucks for the other competitors to not have a proper medal ceremony but at least they get the medal they earned. If it is determined that she is completely fault-free, she will never have the opportunity to win the medal she deserves. And, of course, being only 15 MUST factor into this.
I agree with the decision to let her compete. Take their time. conduct a full investigation and determine exactly what happened and who is at fault. They have only had a few days to look into it so far.
This sounds reasonable on the surface, but you are also subjecting her to possible continued doping by her "entourage" and participating in a moral dilemma so she can compete. Possible child abuse, but let's wait and see if it's real? I have taken some youth sports ethic training. Involving kids in moral dilemmas, though often treated as a joke, stood out as very serious to me.
She has been already tested at the Euros last month and at the ream competition last week. She will get tested at future competitions. She will also get random tests because of the current case. So how will her team keep doping her?
Yep. This exactly. We're not getting the truth. This was the weirdest decision they could have made. I thought a ban was a no brainer.
From what I understand, she passed multiple tests. Then failed one in Dec. where she tested positive for a miniscule amount of drug on the banned list that does not enhance performance.
Yep. This exactly. We're not getting the truth. This was the weirdest decision they could have made. I thought a ban was a no brainer.
From what I understand, she passed multiple tests. Then failed one in Dec. where she tested positive for a miniscule amount of drug on the banned list that does not enhance performance.
Some in doping circles believe that it is effective as a training aid by letting athletes train harder for a longer time without losing form due to fatigue. It would very much be in line with the Russian doping system to dope a 15 year old in order to train her to death (many think that she is going to have a short career due to all the big jumps she does) and to use a drug that isn't even effective and sit on the positive result to get the athlete into the OGs. Sadly, Sha'carri Richardson has a point on this one, although I think the issue is more geopolitical than race. There is a fear that Russia will join with other authoritarian regimes to form their own version of the Olympics if they are not allowed back into the OGs. No one wants to go back to the 1980s when we alternated between a US/Western Europe OGs and a Russian/Eastern Bloc OGs. Letting this girl skate is only happening because of the broader political context.
From what I understand, she passed multiple tests. Then failed one in Dec. where she tested positive for a miniscule amount of drug on the banned list that does not enhance performance.
Some in doping circles believe that it is effective as a training aid by letting athletes train harder for a longer time without losing form due to fatigue. It would very much be in line with the Russian doping system to dope a 15 year old in order to train her to death (many think that she is going to have a short career due to all the big jumps she does) and to use a drug that isn't even effective and sit on the positive result to get the athlete into the OGs. Sadly, Sha'carri Richardson has a point on this one, although I think the issue is more geopolitical than race. There is a fear that Russia will join with other authoritarian regimes to form their own version of the Olympics if they are not allowed back into the OGs. No one wants to go back to the 1980s when we alternated between a US/Western Europe OGs and a Russian/Eastern Bloc OGs. Letting this girl skate is only happening because of the broader political context.
You have more details than I. What was the drug? Was it a masking agent? A PED. Or something else on the banned list (like weed). The way you describe it it is a PED -- I read somewhere else it is not. I also understand there was only trace amounts. Is this so?
My guess is not that this was a political decision to favor Russia so much as anti Russian Western propaganda that misled us
Let her compete . You have American Gabby Thomas suspended than cleared for hiding under her bed 3 times when the testers came by . The west can’t have it both ways. Let the 15 year old play !
Some in doping circles believe that it is effective as a training aid by letting athletes train harder for a longer time without losing form due to fatigue. It would very much be in line with the Russian doping system to dope a 15 year old in order to train her to death (many think that she is going to have a short career due to all the big jumps she does) and to use a drug that isn't even effective and sit on the positive result to get the athlete into the OGs. Sadly, Sha'carri Richardson has a point on this one, although I think the issue is more geopolitical than race. There is a fear that Russia will join with other authoritarian regimes to form their own version of the Olympics if they are not allowed back into the OGs. No one wants to go back to the 1980s when we alternated between a US/Western Europe OGs and a Russian/Eastern Bloc OGs. Letting this girl skate is only happening because of the broader political context.
You have more details than I. What was the drug? Was it a masking agent? A PED. Or something else on the banned list (like weed). The way you describe it it is a PED -- I read somewhere else it is not. I also understand there was only trace amounts. Is this so?
My guess is not that this was a political decision to favor Russia so much as anti Russian Western propaganda that misled us
A lot of the PED's people take now are tangentially PED's. Thing's like EPO and steroids are so very effective, so the tests are rightfully low tolerance and expansive. Things like trimetazidine and other "maybe they benefit" drugs can be easier to get away with, because they are either not tested for in every sample or have proportionally higher limits.
ROC is absolutely positively titrating PED's into athletes to find the legal limit.
You have more details than I. What was the drug? Was it a masking agent? A PED. Or something else on the banned list (like weed). The way you describe it it is a PED -- I read somewhere else it is not. I also understand there was only trace amounts. Is this so?
My guess is not that this was a political decision to favor Russia so much as anti Russian Western propaganda that misled us
A lot of the PED's people take now are tangentially PED's. Thing's like EPO and steroids are so very effective, so the tests are rightfully low tolerance and expansive. Things like trimetazidine and other "maybe they benefit" drugs can be easier to get away with, because they are either not tested for in every sample or have proportionally higher limits.
ROC is absolutely positively titrating PED's into athletes to find the legal limit.
A lot of the PED's people take now are tangentially PED's. Thing's like EPO and steroids are so very effective, so the tests are rightfully low tolerance and expansive. Things like trimetazidine and other "maybe they benefit" drugs can be easier to get away with, because they are either not tested for in every sample or have proportionally higher limits.
ROC is absolutely positively titrating PED's into athletes to find the legal limit.
What drug was it? Was it only trace elements?
trimetazidine, and I can't find a source with the amounts over the limit
What is trimetazidine, exactly? It’s important to note that trimetazidine, aka TMZ, is not approved for use in the U.S. However, it is used in many European countries, as a medication to help with angina, chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, and similar heart issues. Trimetazidine is a “metabolic agent,” which means it’s a medication that has an effect on metabolism, according to the European Medicines Agency.
How can trimetazidine enhance athletic performance? Trimetazidine has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances since 2014. However, WADA noted in a 2018 technical letter that an athlete may test positive for trimetazidine after taking lomerizine, a drug that’s allowed for use for the treatment of migraines. As for why this drug is banned and may help with athletic performance, Alan offers this explanation: “If your heart gets more oxygen, theoretically, it can enhance your performance overall.” But it’s not entirely clear how much trimetazidine actually helps boost athletic performance. “In some studies, it has been shown to reduce the episodes of angina and improve exercise time in patients,” Dr. Tadwalkar says. But that’s in people who already have cardiac issues—not your average person whose heart already works well, he points out. Dr. Tadwalkar says that there is “a little bit of disagreement” on how much trimetazidine could help someone from an athletic performance standpoint, adding that “there is evidence that shows this may be helpful.” Still, he says, “there is some thinking that it can increase stamina for athletes, and there is definitely a concern that this may create an unfair advantage.”
Who cares. She’s by far the best. Her career will be over after these Olympics anyway so better make the best of it. The next group of teenagers will be among shortly.
Not only did Russia know they could convince CAS to let her compete because she was underage, they wanted her to get caught, just so they could show IOC, USA, and the rest of the world who really calls the shots.
Brilliantly planned - let's hope this Olympian metaphor for the Ukraine doesn't hold.
She tested negative at the Olympics. That is a reason she is allowed to compete, and that the drug found has odd allowances. The drug seems to be less of an enhancer and more of a don't-use-it-because-you-might-hurt-yourself (like marijuana).
No. The drug increases blood flow to the heart. Is it really that hard to imagine why that would be useful for a figure skater? Just because most people won’t understand why that is useful doesn’t mean that it is ‘less of an enhancer.’
The kid is 15, and has not tested positive at the OG.
I have no doubt that the crap was in her sample, but no way it was intentional doping--and if it was, can a 15-year-old kid be held responsible? No way. She should not be punished personally, and should be allowed to continue to compete.
BUT her coach, the nutjob Tutberidze, should immediately be suspended and barred from any further participation in the OG. Also her "trainer", or whomever controls her vitamins/supplements. They should be banned pending further inquiry, and then banned from involvement for years, if not forever.
How the F to enforce any such ban, who knows.
This whole situation highlights one good reason why there are being age limits discussed, especially in regards to figure skating. They want to raise it to something like 17, I think. That's still a kid, though. I think it should be 18 years to participate in any situation in which you may receive a sanction if you test positive, and that there should be no accommodation for protected classes other than diminished mental capacity. How many athletes there are at this level, who exhibit such diminishment, who knows--but it would make things a heck of a lot easier, and cleaner to administer. The test could be similar to what we use for other things, are they capable of understanding the charges against them and the proceedings, are they capable of participating in their own defense, etc.
This whole situation sucks, but ultimately this is a 15-year-old kid. Just a little kid, who doesn't know SQUAT. She just follows the orders of adults. Child abuse? Quite possibly, but that depends on the individual circumstances and on the individual people. Look what happened with the US gymnasts, geez.
The problem is that girls develop athletically at so much younger an age than they develop mentally and emotionally. This can be true also for guys in some events. The solution might be age limits and strict documentation and evidentiary requirements.
Do you mean as an individual she wasn't intentionally doping or there's no way that team is doping? Cause the team is doping. They may call it "vitamins." A team doctor who I think is an anesthesiologist is always with them and I don't blame her as a kid but she can't be allowed to skate. Why can't they rush the B sample? so they can have a rightful skate and medal ceremony?
Their excuse is not that she had a false positive but that Kamila's grandpa takes the heart medication and she drank out of the same water glass as he did. Mind you she was in a different city than her hometown to skate Russian nationals where she got popped. This is more tenuous than Shelby's pork burrito.
If the decision can't be finalized even though they've had a week, let her skate and have an extra gold or whatever awarded. She's the one who got popped. Let the others have legit medals, plus a ceremony, and lets her be TBD.
I feel bad not only for 4th and 5th place but all the girls who got hurt trying to get a quad jump in their arsenal to compete or a triple Axel. They are the top tier ones that didn't make it to the Olympics cause the mid-tier don't even try that stuff.
Agree with you age should be older to 17, not 18. What you say about girls reaching athletic ability beyond their mental years--it's not necessarily their actual peak. What you're referring to is delaying puberty. These skaters and coaches are desperate to put off a changing body. They may be able to do quads before 15/16 but in the past champion skaters have been in their early 20s and they just look like better skaters, faster, powerful with higher, stronger jumps with better techniques. No quads though. They just can't rotate like a hummingbird.
No. The drug increases blood flow to the heart. Is it really that hard to imagine why that would be useful for a figure skater? Just because most people won’t understand why that is useful doesn’t mean that it is ‘less of an enhancer.’
The Russian girls are said to do 5 run-thrus of their long programs a day. That's unheard of without getting hurt elsewhere. Think of how much compounded practice time they have, being on such a drug that increases oxygen flow.
It seemed like every Russian athlete was on meldonium, another heart medicine. Remember when Maria Sharapova got popped because one year it was fine, then the next year they put it on the banned list. Why are so many Russian athletes on heart meds if they don't do anything?
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