Nike suspends relationship with Maria Sharapova!

[georgeq]

She said she started using the drug in 2006 and cites predisposition to diabetes as one of the main reasons. The first study linking Meldonium to diabetes was published in 2009. How does that work?

[motco]

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.

You can be sure that if it had performance reducing characteristics as a side effect, it would not have been within a mile of her! Medically convenient?

[jonby]

From reading the below, it would appear more than likely that similar results have appeared many, many times before, over the 10 years she has taken the drug, when it was not banned

I'm not blaming WADA and I don't know how these things work, but it strikes me as odd that when adding a new substance onto the list, they don't contact those who have tested positive for said drug before, explaining that under the new rules they will be falling foul, unless they stop taking said drug

If for no other reason, than to deal with the difference between the date the drug becomes banned and the time it must take for a drug to get out of the system






It said: 'Following the statement made by Maria Sharapova in a press conference today, the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) can confirm the following:

'On 26 January 2016, Ms Sharapova provided an anti-doping sample to the TADP in association with her participation in the 2016 Australian Open.

'That sample was analysed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory, which returned a positive for meldonium, which is a prohibited substance under the WADA Code and, therefore also the TADP.

'In accordance with Article 8.1.1 of the TADP, Ms Sharapova was charged on 2 March with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

'Ms Sharapova has accepted the finding of meldonium in her sample collected on 26 January.

'As meldonium is a non-specified substance under the WADA (and, therefore, TADP) list of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods, Ms Sharapova will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3481550/Ju...
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[Vocal Minority]

If it wasn't illegal, why check for it an record its presence?

[glazbagun]

Digga said:

ewenm said:

Well, everyone with half a brain would have thought it Every professional sport except darts 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...

FTFY

Is beer not a performance enhancing drug? Or is it just that it isn't a problem.

[Beati Dogu]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I think you're right. She's box office and just like they allow her ridiculous shrieking to go unpunished, they'll let this one slide too.

[Pommygranite]

The manufacturer States it's only supposed to be taken for 4 weeks and she's been taking it for 10 years

She's a drug cheat and a long term one at that.

Banned or not before January she new it was an enhancement drug.

[Impasse]

I'd be interested to learn the names of all the top 100 male and female tennis players who never regularly ingest legal drugs.

[ewenm]

Impasse said:

I'd be interested to learn the names of all the top 100 male and female tennis players who never regularly ingest legal drugs.

None.

Caffeine is a performance-enhancing drug.
Paracetamol can allow you to train when you're feeling under the weather, similarly Ibuprofen.

If we say those are OK, then we can't say that what Sharapova was doing up to Dec15 was not OK. Unethical and immoral perhaps, but within the rules at the time. There will be plenty of others doing the same with the same drug (now stopped I'd think!) or others.

[ewenm]

Vocal Minority said:

If it wasn't illegal, why check for it an record its presence?

Yes, highly unlikely they would - WADA and the labs are not well funded and don't have the time to go on fishing trips, so I'd be surprised if they did any tests for legal substances.

[98elise]

Impasse said:

I'd be interested to learn the names of all the top 100 male and female tennis players who never regularly ingest legal drugs.

It would be interesting if top athletes had to declare what drugs they were taking to a regulatory body. I'll bet most of them have some sort of "illness" that means they need to take particular drugs for years.

I do realise that athletes will suffer physical injuries regularly, but this sort of thing is ridiculous. She loses even more credibility trying to defend it as a medical need rather than just admitting it was for performance.

[98elise]

ewenm said:

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?

Caffeine doesn't need a prescription.

[ewenm]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

No sympathy at all. It's basic athlete admin to check the WADA lists. She deserves everything she gets.

[ewenm]

98elise said:

ewenm said:

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?

Caffeine doesn't need a prescription.

OK, so you're drawing the line at "Does it need a prescription?". It's not a bad place to draw it although varies by nation as some over the counter drugs in one country are prescription drugs elsewhere. However, for it to actually matter, it needs to be in the rules of the sport.

[chris watton]

ewenm said:

No sympathy at all. It's basic athlete admin to check the WADA lists. She deserves everything she gets.

I am no expert by any stretch, but if I were a top athlete who relied more on being the face of top products/brands with very lucrative contracts, and those companies chose you for a clean, wholesome image, where you can earn millions, then I would make sure I was on the ball with what performance enhancing substances I could/couldn't take to stay at the top of my game.

Not bothering to open emails is no excuse, not when there's millions in potential lost revenue involved. In any case, as I mentioned earlier, she would have her own army of coaches, lawyers etc. who would have informed her about the latest drug-testing laws, surely?

[ewenm]

chris watton said:

ewenm said:

No sympathy at all. It's basic athlete admin to check the WADA lists. She deserves everything she gets.

I am no expert by any stretch, but if I were a top athlete who relied more on being the face of top products/brands with very lucrative contracts, and those companies chose you for a clean, wholesome image, where you can earn millions, then I would make sure I was on the ball with what performance enhancing substances I could/couldn't take to stay at the top of my game.

Not bothering to open emails is no excuse, not when there's millions in potential lost revenue involved. In any case, as I mentioned earlier, she would have her own army of coaches, lawyers etc. who would have informed her about the latest drug-testing laws, surely?

You'd have thought so. Multiple failures throughout her team no doubt, but the buck stops with her. She is responsible for what she puts into her body, so no sympathy.

[2fast748]

ewenm said:

Vocal Minority said:

If it wasn't illegal, why check for it an record its presence?

Yes, highly unlikely they would - WADA and the labs are not well funded and don't have the time to go on fishing trips, so I'd be surprised if they did any tests for legal substances.

Check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35758901

Basically WADA are sometimes pro-active in their monitoring of new drugs on the market so keep a quiet eye out so to speak. There were a number of pro cyclists caught using a new form of EPO that they thought was unknown to WADA but the manufacturer had taken their product to WADA early in development to let them develop a test for it before it even came to market.

[ewenm]

2fast748 said:

Check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35758901

Basically WADA are sometimes pro-active in their monitoring of new drugs on the market so keep a quiet eye out so to speak. There were a number of pro cyclists caught using a new form of EPO that they thought was unknown to WADA but the manufacturer had taken their product to WADA early in development to let them develop a test for it before it even came to market.

Excellent.

[Halb]

ewenm said:

"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.

Or beetroot juice!

The ancient Greeks used to view training for the sport as cheating.

---

Admins mistake, they should just let athletes take what they want.

I was interested, for my own reasons. about inhalers, Manchester 10k coming up. Seems they don't do owt.
http://www.outsideonline.com/1783866/will-inhaler-...

[ewenm]

Halb said:

Or beetroot juice!

The ancient Greeks used to view training for the sport as cheating.

---

Admins mistake, they should just let athletes take what they want.

I was interested, for my own reasons. about inhalers, Manchester 10k coming up. Seems they don't do owt.
http://www.outsideonline.com/1783866/will-inhaler-...

If you have an asthma attack mid-run it'll probably significantly enhance your performance on that specific day