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isn't it odd that such a fierce critic of drugs as Paula Radcliffe backs a drug cheat ... ?
(no, I'm not saying she took drug, I have no idea she did or did not, just she broke some rules and the consequences of that must be very serious, 1-year ban seems too light to me).
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/251120...u-beijing.html
So what do you make of Tim Don and Peter Cousins who got 3 months at the same time for exactly the same offence? Tim Don is already back in the Olympics.
I'm not that bothered if it's 6 months, 1 year or 2 years, but the main thing is I think it HAS to be consistent and transparent.
i.e. if 2 atheletes miss the tests, one is banned for longer then the authorities should explain why that ban was longer.
At the moment it seems pot luck how you are treated.
My point was different. How come such an anti-doping advocate as Paula R. now seems to be supporting a drug cheat ?
(OK, no evidence Ohuruogu used drugs, but she still broke some drug-rules...)
Because she wasn't a drugs cheat. I think most thought she was unprofessional, immaturity maybe, made a few mistakes, got caught, got punished, and think a young athelete should be allowed to make amends for a mistake. I'm not in favour of life bans, if guilty of drug abuse then maybe ban for as long as that drug may be in the system, and some, but life bans are overly harsh for mistakes.
what about dwain chambers ? does he have a life ban
Make an impression of her and to all the other athletes by keeping her banned
Do you mean an example?Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Rabbit
I think that's harsh, why make an 'impression' of her, and not the other atheletes, who have recieved short term bans.
How would you like to be banned for life for speeding once, when others would only get a smaller punishment?
Yeah i mean an example and so all the other athletes can see that there is no point in messing up are sport by taking drugs, She has been banned for life so that means life and she should not be allowed to appeal
The fundemental problem is that they are different sports, with different governing bodies and different rules. It would make sense if all sports had the same rules but they don't. Maybe all Olympic sports should adopt a common set of rules?
I think I read somewhere that when Ohuruogu got banned there were a shed load of athletes on 2 missed tests. This should have acted as a wake up call to them.
Another problem that I've been reading about recently is that it's "unfair" that UK athletes are tested far more than certain other countries. But then you learn that a test costs about £2000, which in this country is a lot, but in places such as Kenya, which test far less frequently, it represents more than an average annual salary.
Do you not think it totally amoral to pass a lifetime ban with no right of appeal?Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Rabbit
How many murder cases and life time sentences have been overturned in the UK due to appeal. The right to appeal such bans should be a fundamental stage of the process.
A 22 year old athelete, misses 3 tests, so you'd ban her for life with no right to appeal.
I'm quite suprised you have such a strict view. Have you not made mistakes yourself?
I believe that the "missed" tests are a result of the athelete "tracking" system where they have to give their where abouts at a particular time on a particular day up to 12 months in advance. They have to keep updating the online calendar to advise the testers of where they are going to be if they have to go somewhere else. I believe Tim Don didn't update his and was elsewhere when they came to test him. He also claimed that not enough training was given on how to use the software and this was one of the reasons he was reinstated. Anybody else know more about this?
Yeah I think if they have missed that amount of drug tests then that is there own fault so should not be aloud to appealQuote:
Originally Posted by IainR
Murder cases are competely different as they have have took another life and should be punished for it and yeah I no police can make mistakes but the criminal should not be able to appeal all Ohuruogu has done is messed her own life up so she should face the consquences
Yeah I have made mistakes but I have not missed 3 drugs test
But have you taken the 9 other tests in 12 months that she took and passed? 2 of which were a few days before and after the 3rd missed test.
I don't believe that she's taken drugs, but I think the 1 year ban is correct, and the decision to re-instate her into the Olympics is also right.
You have to state where you're going to be 5 days a week for 1 hour a day. You can phone / email / text / fax to say you're not going to be there upto 1 minute before the test is due and you won't be classed as missing a test. For Christine O's last test she went to the track which she gives as being her meeting point, found it was closed due to a school sports day and went to another track to train. Tester turned up and she wasn't there. In USA, the systems is a bit different. The tester gets to the alloted place and rings you. If you can't get to him in the hour then you've missed the test. I think that is a bit fairer than here where the tester makes no attempt to contact you. In Christine O's case she could have got back to meet the tester. In Tim Dons case he couldn't because he was training abroad, although ironically it was a GB training camp, so perhaps they should have known about his absence as they'd arranged it!
It's a hell of a mess up if you're a world class athlete and 22 years old and that's it and, get this, absolutely nobody thinks you've actually taken any drugs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Rabbit
Way harsh man!
Imagine you've cocked it up twice before, ie not being where you said you'd be as opposed to missing an appointment or failing to turn up for a test. Then you get stuck in a traffic jam, or an accident or some other bona fide reason for being late and your phone's down, or no signal or it's been pinched. Or maybe you're just sackless (that'd be me) and you just don't make it. And you know nobody's gonna listen when you try to explain because rules are rules and people are going to say you messed it up and you've got to pay the price, for the rest of your life.
I don't think I'd want to be part of that sort of set up from the start. I'd probably take up a less bureaucraticised sport like fellrunning where people are kinder; or are they?
Fellrunning is all part of the same rules? Only difference is you don't get paid 25k a year (tax free) to be somewhere for 1 hour, 5 days a week. Your appointment place could even be sat at home watching Supermarket Sweep.
If, by inference, you are suggesting that missing a drugs test implies that you are a drugs cheat, then you have to condemn as drugs cheats many more athletes who have missed one or more drugs tests.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gambatte
Your use of the emotive words "drugs cheat" is inappropiate in these circumstances.
Perhaps right.Quote:
Originally Posted by XRunner
Suppose Ohuruogu has never taken any drug. And suppose you are a different athlete who HAS taken banned substances but not found yet. What will you think when you hear Ohuruogu is allowed to compete again ? You will think: I will not show up for my test(s), say I have not taken drug, be banned for a while and then be back.
I don't think athletes who miss test(s) should be punished because they have perhaps taken drug. I have no idea if they have or have not. I think they must be punished harshly because not doing so sends a clear and dangerous message to those who do take drugs, or a considering to do so.
didnt rio ferdinand get a 6 month ban for the same crimes ? in that case a life ban looks a little harsh . and i bet he still got his 100k a week .
The fact that she passed other tests is irrelevant. How many tests did Marion Jones pass?Quote:
Originally Posted by dominion
The one person who seems to have been forgotten in all this is Nicola Sanders who was robbed of a World Championship gold medal by a drugs cheat.
There is a difference between avoiding a drugs test and missing a drugs test.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gambatte
Apparently if you want to take drugs to improve your performace you should go and live in a country that doesn't have any out-of-competition testing.
If you beleive Oliver Holt's article in the Mirror today then Ohuruogu avoided her second test. She was given an hour to get from home to the tester but made no attempt to do so claiming it would take 90 minutes. Holt did the same journey yesterday in 58 minutesQuote:
Originally Posted by XRunner
Or you live in a country that condenes those who miss a test.Quote:
Originally Posted by XRunner
Ferdinand got an 8 month ban for ONE missed test, not 3.Quote:
Originally Posted by lilactime
Other players received fines for the same offence, while players who tested positive for performance enhancing substances (Stam, Davids) recieved shorter sentences, as in around 3 months.
If missing a test = the assumption that they were taking drugs, then surely it should work both ways, and taking drugs should be the same length ban as missing a test.
Football is a disgrace the way it dishes out disciplinary measures, especially in the UK. It's one of the only organisations in world sport where the disciplinary commitee are from the organisation and the fines are collected by the organisation. Rather a conflict of interest. In Holland it's a local policeman who dishes out the apropriate sentence.
It was no surprise that her appeal was succesful. In the desperate pursuit of medals at any cost the authorities are willing to look the other way when it suits them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gambatte
What would the media's reaction have been if Nicola Sanders had been beaten to a gold medal by an athlete from the old eastern bloc shortly after they had served a ban for being a drug cheat? From what i remember Cram's only comment on her ban was something along the lines of 'Christine has had a difficult year'
Ferdinand got banned for being stupid, not for missing a drugs test! He knew he was due to be tested after training but went home anyway. If you believe the gossip, he avoided the test because he thought he'd get found out for having syphilis.
The Mirror story doesn't make sense because they're not supposed to be told about the test, or contacted by the tester.
So why didn't other players get the same ban?
And why should being stupid be a bigger ban than steroid abuse?
The mirror story does make sense. Of course they are told about the test, that was why he was banned for missing it!Quote:
Originally Posted by dominion
The phone records was part of the reason the ban was so severe.
The Mirror story is about Ohuruogu.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/holt/
"Ferdinand got banned for being stupid, not for missing a drugs test! He knew he was due to be tested after training but went home anyway. If you believe the gossip, he avoided the test because he thought he'd get found out for having syphilis.
The Mirror story doesn't make sense because they're not supposed to be told about the test, or contacted by the tester."
hardly a wild jump to think you were reffering to the mirror story about the Ferdinant phone records?
Read the story about Lyudmila Blonska who served a two year ban after testing positive for steroids in 2003 and then beat Kelly Southerton at the World Championships.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Head
Maybe we commentators should take our cue from the athletes. Do they all walk over to the other side of the track when Christine Ohuruogu is warming up. They don't do they. The Ukrainian's a drug cheat. CO isn't.
But maybe even a cheat could be given some mercy. What message would that send though?