Nike suspends relationship with Maria Sharapova!

[ewenm]

maxxy5 said:

If she was the only athlete caught out by taking this drug - which isn't even legal in the US - I would perhaps be sympathetic to her story, but she isn't. Loads of other endurance athletes have been taking it. Do all these athletes, the world's genetic elite, suffer from poor blood flow?

What normal people don't realise (particularly upstanding Brits I suppose) is that many athletes think taking performance enhancing drugs is fine, they are only sorry when that drug becomes illegal.

Some more info, pre-sharapova - http://roidvisor.com/performance-enhancing-drugs-u...

It's up to WADA and the governing body to decide what drugs are legal for competition and what aren't. It's up to the athletes to maximise their performance within the legal framework set out for their sport. It's also up to the athletes to check that WADA/gov body haven't changed the banned list and to stop using anything that has now become illegal for competition (with the TUE caveat) - this is where Sharapova and others have failed in their basic admin. Obviously I have no sympathy for them.

Caffeine used to be on the banned list for athletics (threshold basis), now it isn't. Would you suggest that sportspeople should continue to be careful of their caffeine levels? It's definitely performance enhancing after all, so is it "cheating" to use it despite it not being on the banned list any longer?

Caffeine research: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.137...

Edited by ewenm on Tuesday 8th March 12:51

[Leithen]

Bradgate said:

I know Sharapova has a reputation for being aloof (to put it very politely), but she actually came across very well in the press conference yesterday.

If she’s telling the truth about taking this stuff for legitimate medical reasons for a decade, but missing the memo when WADA decided to prohibit it, that hardly makes her Lance Armstrong. She has admitted she screwed up, and accepted responsibility, so I think she deserves a relatively lenient punishment. A 12 month ban, perhaps.

If she had disclosed on her doping control forms that she was taking this medication as a prescription as she claims, one might have expected her carefully scripted statement to have included that vital piece of information.

It's down to her to prove to the relevant body that will decide the length of her suspension, that it was for medical reasons and if it was and she hasn't included it in doping control forms, why not.

Given the number of other athletes detected using it before and after it being banned, it doesn't look good. Very odd that a US based athlete would be taking a prescribed drug that wasn't FDA approved too if it were for purely medical reasons.

It has been used as a PED and for that reason banned - using both names.

[unrepentant]

Soov535 said:

They made the substance illegal in January. She's been taking it for 10 years legally.

She'll get a fine.

Minimum penalty is a 2 yr ban. Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. This looks like a genuine mistake but there is a zero tolerance policy and it would set a bad precedent if they went easy on her.

[Vocal Minority]

ewenm said:

Well, everyone with half a brain would have thought it Every professional sport has a doping problem, cycling and athletics are more open about it than most and hence cop a lot of flak from deluded fans of other sports.

None so blind etc...

Just so, the only reason cycling looks so bloody bad (everything is relative) is because they actually put in quite a lot of effort into finding the dopers

[Digga]

How long till the fun police put black pudding on the banned list?

[Mr GrimNasty]

unrepentant said:

Soov535 said:

They made the substance illegal in January. She's been taking it for 10 years legally.

She'll get a fine.

Minimum penalty is a 2 yr ban. Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. This looks like a genuine mistake but there is a zero tolerance policy and it would set a bad precedent if they went easy on her.

Speaking ethically, it'll only really be fine if she has a genuine medical need - which seems dubious, given its prescription uses. It's main 'doping' benefit is increased endurance & recovery, so legal or not, it's still a tainted drug assisted career.

[London424]

I can't believe there are people think it's a genuine mistake and athletes are taking this for their health and well being.

It was a legally allowed PED.

[maxxy5]

'4-6 weeks is normal treatment for drug in Sharapova case'

http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/60e94fc913e1456...

I suppose you could take it on and off for 10 years?

"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."

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/meldo...

Edited by maxxy5 on Tuesday 8th March 13:26

[ewenm]

Mr GrimNasty said:

unrepentant said:

Soov535 said:

They made the substance illegal in January. She's been taking it for 10 years legally.

She'll get a fine.

Minimum penalty is a 2 yr ban. Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. This looks like a genuine mistake but there is a zero tolerance policy and it would set a bad precedent if they went easy on her.

Speaking ethically, it'll only really be fine if she has a genuine medical need - which seems dubious, given its prescription uses. It's main 'doping' benefit is increased endurance & recovery, so legal or not, it's still a tainted drug assisted career.

"Legal or not" is the entirety of the point. If you start dismissing legal supplements, where do you stop? Is that post-training coffee performance-enhancing so a drug-taint? How about the Lucozade they took mid-session? Expecting sportspeople to work to a stricter moral or ethical code than that set out by the rules of the sport is naive at best.

[ewenm]

London424 said:

I can't believe there are people think it's a genuine mistake and athletes are taking this for their health and well being.

It was a legally allowed PED.

The mistake was not stopping taking it when it became illegal for her sport.

[EricE]

Here's an article on the drug:

https://jakegshelley.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/what...

article said:

One review (4) of the effects of Meldonium on exercise performance listed the following benefits:

• Decreased levels of lactate and urea in blood
• Improved economy of glycogen: level of glycogen increased in the cells during the long-lasting exercise
• Increased endurance properties and aerobic capabilities of athletes
• Improved functional parameters of heart activity
• Increased physical work capabilities
• Increased rate of recovery after maximal and sub-maximal loads
• Activates CNS functions and protects against stress

A published human research study (5) on the effects of Meldonium on sports performance used Russian judokas and gave them a dose of 0.5-1.0 g twice a day before training, as a 14-21 day course during the training period 10-14 days before competition. Some of the above effects published in the review article were reported from this study. Unfortunately, quite a lot of the research into this topic is only published in Russian (6). Another Russian study, translated into English, showed a significant improvement in the swimming of rats after Meldonium supplementation (1).

Oddly enough it doesn't mention diabetes.

[Mr GrimNasty]

ewenm said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

unrepentant said:

Soov535 said:

They made the substance illegal in January. She's been taking it for 10 years legally.

She'll get a fine.

Minimum penalty is a 2 yr ban. Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. This looks like a genuine mistake but there is a zero tolerance policy and it would set a bad precedent if they went easy on her.

Speaking ethically, it'll only really be fine if she has a genuine medical need - which seems dubious, given its prescription uses. It's main 'doping' benefit is increased endurance & recovery, so legal or not, it's still a tainted drug assisted career.

"Legal or not" is the entirety of the point. If you start dismissing legal supplements, where do you stop? Is that post-training coffee performance-enhancing so a drug-taint? How about the Lucozade they took mid-session? Expecting sportspeople to work to a stricter moral or ethical code than that set out by the rules of the sport is naive at best.

It's not a supplement, it's a drug.

[r11co]

Camoradi said:

Perhaps she should be on top gear?

as she has 10 years experience of it

[ewenm]

Mr GrimNasty said:

ewenm said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

unrepentant said:

Soov535 said:

They made the substance illegal in January. She's been taking it for 10 years legally.

She'll get a fine.

Minimum penalty is a 2 yr ban. Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. This looks like a genuine mistake but there is a zero tolerance policy and it would set a bad precedent if they went easy on her.

Speaking ethically, it'll only really be fine if she has a genuine medical need - which seems dubious, given its prescription uses. It's main 'doping' benefit is increased endurance & recovery, so legal or not, it's still a tainted drug assisted career.

"Legal or not" is the entirety of the point. If you start dismissing legal supplements, where do you stop? Is that post-training coffee performance-enhancing so a drug-taint? How about the Lucozade they took mid-session? Expecting sportspeople to work to a stricter moral or ethical code than that set out by the rules of the sport is naive at best.

It's not a supplement, it's a drug.

As is caffeine. Again, where do you draw the line if not with what WADA and the governing body set as the rules?

[Digga]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Those grunts were masking the noise of the emissions.

[ewenm]

EricE said:

Here's an article on the drug:

https://jakegshelley.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/what...

article said:

One review (4) of the effects of Meldonium on exercise performance listed the following benefits:

• Decreased levels of lactate and urea in blood
• Improved economy of glycogen: level of glycogen increased in the cells during the long-lasting exercise
• Increased endurance properties and aerobic capabilities of athletes
• Improved functional parameters of heart activity
• Increased physical work capabilities
• Increased rate of recovery after maximal and sub-maximal loads
• Activates CNS functions and protects against stress

A published human research study (5) on the effects of Meldonium on sports performance used Russian judokas and gave them a dose of 0.5-1.0 g twice a day before training, as a 14-21 day course during the training period 10-14 days before competition. Some of the above effects published in the review article were reported from this study. Unfortunately, quite a lot of the research into this topic is only published in Russian (6). Another Russian study, translated into English, showed a significant improvement in the swimming of rats after Meldonium supplementation (1).

Oddly enough it doesn't mention diabetes.

Sounds like WADA should have banned it years ago...

[jonby]

It has been more than well established over the last few years that athletes are totally responsible for checking what goes into their body and whether it contravenes any banned substances lists. It is absolutely black & white. There is absolutely no getting away from that - there have been more than enough cases of for instance, athletes innocuously taking an off the shelf cold medicine containing a banned substance, taking substances with different names to those on the list, dealing with ever changing lists, taking products without checking the ingredients, etc that there is no longer a remotely acceptable defence along those lines (which MS appears to accept)

There also appears to be a precedent of athletes submitting details of what they are legally taking, in the way of medicines & drugs, to prevent misunderstanding in the future - it would appear MS did not do that in this instance

So the bit I really do not get, is whether at the route of all this is gross incompetence at a level which seems outrageously negligent & incompetent given the support team which must exist behind the world's highest earning female athlete, or something more sinister. What on earth do all the managers, advisors & nutritionists that MS must employ actually do that can be considered more important than staying on top of banned substances ?

[jonby]

Bradgate said:

If she’s telling the truth about taking this stuff for legitimate medical reasons for a decade, but missing the memo when WADA decided to prohibit it, that hardly makes her Lance Armstrong. She has admitted she screwed up, and accepted responsibility, so I think she deserves a relatively lenient punishment. A 12 month ban, perhaps.

Sorry but I find that ludicrous. If she was a county level player, maybe. There is no excuse for one of the most high profile athletes of all time 'screwing up' in this way

But yes, I agree with you that she handled herself well and I don't find her in any way unpleasant as a character

[CorbynForTheBin]

jonby said:

It has been more than well established over the last few years that athletes are totally responsible for checking what goes into their body and whether it contravenes any banned substances lists. It is absolutely black & white. There is absolutely no getting away from that - there have been more than enough cases of for instance, athletes innocuously taking an off the shelf cold medicine containing a banned substance, taking substances with different names to those on the list, dealing with ever changing lists, taking products without checking the ingredients, etc that there is no longer a remotely acceptable defence along those lines (which MS appears to accept)

There also appears to be a precedent of athletes submitting details of what they are legally taking, in the way of medicines & drugs, to prevent misunderstanding in the future - it would appear MS did not do that in this instance

So the bit I really do not get, is whether at the route of all this is gross incompetence at a level which seems outrageously negligent & incompetent given the support team which must exist behind the world's highest earning female athlete, or something more sinister. What on earth do all the managers, advisors & nutritionists that MS must employ actually do that can be considered more important than staying on top of banned substances ?

A relation is an Olympic athlete, the level of picking over everything which they take is mental!

Taking some generic paracetamol while staying with us prompted a call to their team to check it was OK.

[glazbagun]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Get banned for a year, go away and train like Rocky/Ivan Drago, come back and smash Serena. Win.