Tainted Gold ?

[Maxriddles]

I really don't know how I feel about Christina Ohuruogu's gold medal win today. She has served a ban for missing drugs tests, in my opinion this is as good as being found guilty as there is no reasonable reason an athlete should miss tests without an exceptionally good reason, let alone missing multiple tests. Is anyone else uncomfortable with this?

I am also confused as to how she gets selected and Dwain Chambers doesn't, I'll assume that's because he was actually caught and provided a positive test.

While on the tainted gold subject has anyone seen any footage, stills, or touch pad prints which prove Michael Phelps did win number 7 of his eight golds, watching in real time I thought he'd missed out and the slow motion replay didn't really convince me otherwise.

[Wardonkey]

Online Olympics is rigged....

[Graham C]

Well, she's been tested enough and not been shown as taking drugs and also the panel that cleared her found that she had mitigating circumstances to miss the tests so I don't really see it as a problem.

Chambers took drugs and admitted it.

[Maxriddles]

Well, she's been tested enough and not been shown as taking drugs and also the panel that cleared her found that she had mitigating circumstances to miss the tests so I don't really see it as a problem.

Chambers took drugs and admitted it.

I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of the case but if she had mitigating circumstances why ban her, that would seem to be unfair in the extreme. Not just for the lost time but for the damage to her reputation.

[AdamM]

You don't know the ins and outs, but you happy to say her tarnsgression is equal to a proven drugs cheat.
The ban is obviously intended to act as a deterent for missing tests, not to punish any assumed guilt.
You sound like you're typing one handed while precariously balancing a torch and pitch fork in the other hand.

[Sheriff Fatman]

I seem to recall from the appeal hearings that there were issues with the testing process causing many athletes to have fallen foul of missed tests, including instances where athletes had missed a 2nd test before they'd even found out about the first one.  The whole thing seemed a bit of a shambles to me.

She'll always have question marks from some people but, for me, I think this was a very different situation to the Dwain Chambers one.  She never actually tested positive, unlike Chambers.

Fair play to her for winning tonight, IMO.

[Maxriddles]

You don't know the ins and outs, but you happy to say her tarnsgression is equal to a proven drugs cheat.
The ban is obviously intended to act as a deterent for missing tests, not to punish any assumed guilt.
You sound like you're typing one handed while precariously balancing a torch and pitch fork in the other hand.

That's not exactly what I said and if she did have a good reason, especially if the administration of the testing is to blame she should never

Didn't mean to post this as went to do some reading up on what happened.

[AdamM]

She has served a ban for missing drugs tests, in my opinion this is as good as being found guilty as there is no reasonable reason an athlete should miss tests without an exceptionally good reason, let alone missing multiple tests.

is exactly what you said

[Maxriddles]

She has served a ban for missing drugs tests, in my opinion this is as good as being found guilty as there is no reasonable reason an athlete should miss tests without an exceptionally good reason, let alone missing multiple tests.

is exactly what you said

Yep, the key word in that sentence are probably without an exceptionally good reason.

I did decide to do some reading on the matter and once you look into it the one year ban actually seems harsh, especially when a negative test was provided only three days after the third missed test. It seems the real problem was failing to keep doping testers informed of changes to her training schedule, probably more the fault of her coach rather than the athlete. The by-law which banned Chambers did apply but she successfully appealed this in part due to the negative tests in close proximity to the original test dates, the fact that a precedent had already been set with two other athletes having the bylaw overturned in similar circumstances, and probably the most important of all she has never failed a test.

I am actually glad I did read up on this as I had similar feelings after her World Championship Gold last year, and if I had looked into it further I would have reached the same conclusion, the ban was harsh.

[LLevan]

Miss 1 test - possible.
Miss 2 tests - still possible but then realise 1 more missed test means a ban.
Miss 3 tests - unbelievable given that athletes are now so called professionals.

The above is only my opinion but I know if I was in the same position having missed 2 tests theres no way I would put myself in the position of missing a 3rd test and I would make sure I was where I had notified the authorities at all given times in order to take my 3rd test and clear my name.

Like the OP I'm not saying she was guilty of taking any banned substances but the mere fact that she allowed herself to miss 3 tests leaves a shadow over her future performances which included todays great Gold medal. Personally I don't think her Olympic ban should have been lifted since before she missed 3 tests she was fully aware of the potential outcome of missing 3 tests with regard to being part of Team GB at any future Olympics.

At the end of the day what is the point of having out of season random drug testing if athletes are allowed to do as they please and not be accountable and available to take tests.

I don't know the full facts of her missed tests and her original ban for 12 months but surely she should have appealed against her 12 month ban at the time of the ban if there were mitigating circumstances for her missing 3 tests. Like I said at the start to miss 3 tests is unbelievable in this day and age of professional athletics provided she was told after each missed test that she had missed them.

[AdamM]

She has served a ban for missing drugs tests, in my opinion this is as good as being found guilty as there is no reasonable reason an athlete should miss tests without an exceptionally good reason, let alone missing multiple tests.

is exactly what you said

Yep, the key word in that sentence are probably without an exceptionally good reason.

I did decide to do some reading on the matter and once you look into it the one year ban actually seems harsh, especially when a negative test was provided only three days after the third missed test. It seems the real problem was failing to keep doping testers informed of changes to her training schedule, probably more the fault of her coach rather than the athlete. The by-law which banned Chambers did apply but she successfully appealed this in part due to the negative tests in close proximity to the original test dates, the fact that a precedent had already been set with two other athletes having the bylaw overturned in similar circumstances, and probably the most important of all she has never failed a test.

I am actually glad I did read up on this as I had similar feelings after her World Championship Gold last year, and if I had looked into it further I would have reached the same conclusion, the ban was harsh.

pitch fork and extinguished torch put away for another day.

[AdamM]

or should I say pitch fork and torch safely passed.

I love any sentance that runs along the lines of

I don't know the full facts of her missed tests and her original ban for 12 months but ...

[vegaslover]

She should still be banned IMO. Testing out of season is done as that's when most of the abuse is going on. Missing three tests is at best unprofessional. No deterrant to others whatsoever if people are regularly getting bans overturned.

[LLevan]

or should I say pitch fork and torch safely passed.

I love any sentance that runs along the lines of

I don't know the full facts of her missed tests and her original ban for 12 months but ...

Do you know the full facts  and if so please enlighten us all because as a lay member of the general public there will always be that doubt in the back of my head as to whether she is clean or did actually take drugs.

[DaveShoelace]

Athletics sporting bodies do ban sportsman who miss drug tests regardless of the reasons as a deterrent to other sportsmen to do the same, even if there are reasonable circumstances as to why they missed the tests. They also issue fines to players who are not found training in the gym they say they train in at the time they say they train and lots of other very strict things to set examples, so it could well be that even though she had good reason, she still had to serve the time so it were.

I used to live with a swimmer and cost him £250 when I accidently let the cat out of the bag to two guys from his sporting body that he was on a date when he should have been at the gym.