LAUSANNE, Switzerland, August 25. IT was a busy day for FINA as it announced four separate FINA Doping Panel decisions today. Each of the decisions have shown some levels of leniency compared to just a few years ago when any sort of antidoping infraction was assumed to carry a two-year automatic suspension.
Daynara de Paula (BRA)
On 26 and 27 March 2010, the Brazilian swimmer Daynara de Paula was tested positive twice to the substance Furosemide (Class S.5 Diuretics and Other Masking Agents) with the occasion of the IX Juegos Suramericanos - Medellin 2010.
The FINA Doping Panel is of the opinion that the athlete has established according to DC 10.4 how the specified substance entered the body (after taking legally allowed supplement which apparently had been contaminated in the production process), without the intent of enhancing sport performance.
Although the athlete has proved to be of good will she has not undertaken enough enquiries on the supplement, in the light of the strict liability of the athlete.
Based on these circumstances, the FINA Doping Panel has decided to impose a period of 6 months ineligibility, starting 20 August 2010.
All costs of this case shall be borne by the Brazilian Swimming Federation in accordance with DC 12.2.
Ryan Napoleon (AUS)
The Australian swimmer Ryan Napoleon was tested positive to the substance Formoterol (Class S.3 Beta-2 Agonists) on 16 November 2009.
According to DC 10.4, during the hearing of the Doping Panel it has been sufficiently established how the substance Formoterol entered the body of the athlete due to the use of an inhaler wrongly labelled by a pharmacist.
It is clear that the swimmer had no intention of enhancing his sports performances.
The Doping Panel underlines the responsibility of the athlete to check his medicine (in this case for asthma).
The Doping Panel took into consideration the degree of negligence and decided to apply a 3 months period of ineligibility starting from 20 august 2010.
All costs of this case shall be borne by Swimming Australia in accordance with DC 12.2.
Sergio Garcia Ortiz (ESP)
On August 20th, 2010, the FINA Doping Panel held a hearing in regard to
the case of Mr. Sergio Garcia Ortiz (ESP) for alleged violation of FINA DC Rule 2.4 – a combination of three filing failures within an eighteen-month period.
The FINA Doping Panel, after judging the personal circumstances of the athlete, has decided according to FINA Rules DC 10.3.3 a period of one (1) year ineligibility, starting on August 20th, 2010.
All costs of this case shall be borne by the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation in accordance with DC 12.2.
Matthew Zammit (MLT)
On May 1st, 2010, a water polo player Matthew Zammit (MLT) was tested positive to the substance Stanozolol (Class S.1 Anabolic Agent) following a doping control test conducted with the occasion of the Men's Qualification Tournament for the 2010 European Water Polo Championships.
The FINA Doping Panel held a hearing on August 20th, 2010 in Lausanne(SUI) in regard to this case. The FINA Doping Panel found that the athlete committed fault and negligence by taking allegedly unknown pills from personal trainer.
In the light of the strict liability of the athlete, the FINA Doping Panel has decided that Mr. Matthew Zammit (MLT) shall be ineligible for two (2) years after the violation of the FINA Rules DC 2.1 starting from the date of the provisional suspension that is June 22nd, 2010.
All costs of this case shall be borne by the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta in accordance with DC 12.2.
Reaction Time Comments
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August 25, 2010 Very reasonable rulings. The Brazilian swimmer should have done better to protect her interests... Submitted by: nadador
August 25, 2010 Too bad about Napolean...means he will miss Commonwealth Games in October...at least he got to swim @ Pan-Pacs...
I'd also like to clarify my comments about Messrs. Phelps-Lochte that came off wrong.
Obviously Lochte is @ very top of his game now and arguabluy America's best swimmer [of either sex] if not the world too!
But don't count out the 14-time Olympic gold-medalist just yet.
Figure once every 10 years or so he's entitled to a "down' season and this is first time since the Sydney Olympics {well, '01 World Championships] he is not our best nadador.
And even though Lochte has arguably over taken him (especially if you read new Sports Ilustrated) Phelps STILl ranks No. 1 globall in both flys and is among world leaders in 100-200 frees/200 IM too.
He'll be BAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!
Hey, even a certain septuble Olympic gold-medalist/world record-setter from a few moons ago whose name for some unknown reason escapes me at present stunk up the pool four years earlier in Mexico City and he came back.
Phelps is "only" 25 -- prime years for an athlete -- and presuming he rededicates himslf to the task @ hand of reclaiming his No. 1 world status the next two years...it should be "Katie bar the door" @ Shanghai/London.
This presumes of course he stays injury-free and distances himself from his "extraneous" activities (commercials, endresments, personal appearances, etc.) or at least moderates them to a minimal extent. Submitted by: slickwillie32
August 26, 2010 For those who don't see Sports Illustrated on a regular basis, reporter Kelli Anderson's article on the Pan-Pac Championships in the latest (Aug. 30) issue is quite illuminating.
First, the headline: "Move Over,Michael"!!!
Then Anderson quotes a rather prominent American treble Olympic swimming gold-medalist from a few moons ago and now an NBC TV analyst [Ambrose Gaines IV] as saying: "Ryan Lochte has proved that today -- present tense - he is without a doubt the best swimmer in the world. I say this with some trepidation as we all know what kind of shape Michael [Phelps] is in. I think if Michael wants to, he will take over that role, easily. He may not want to. Everyone says that will fuel his fire; now he's going to get motivated. But what do you do after 14 gold medals?" [An opinion shared, I might add, by Hall of Fame coach Forbes Carlile, among others.]
After noting how Lochte came right back after Beijing and resumed competition [albeit with numerous three-day in-seaon breaks] Anderson continues by quoting Lochte's long-time coach Greg Troy re his protege's bum knee: "Ryan lives on the edge a little bit, but to race the way he does, you have to live on the edge a little bit." Then Troy explains how Lochte -- after suffering a meniscus tear in his left knee that required surgery last fall and kept him out for four weeks [he injured himself break dancing!] was almost a blessing. "In some ways this injury was kind of a plus. All the other injuries were minor" [including spraining his ankle a month before the 2008 Olympic Trials chasing his dog]. "This one,he had to see a surgeon, and it took a long time to come back. It clarified how important swimming was for him, and I think it made hm a little bit more responmsible, a little more mature as an athlete."
Anderson also explains how Lochte has made major changes in his diet.
"Instead of subsisting on fast-food burgers and sodas he now favors salads and lean meats."
"As you get older you realize whatever goes into your body is going to affect you later on," Lochte adds.
The article also touches on Lochte's "free spirtedness" and quotes Natalie Coughlin -- who recently turned 28, if you can believe that --as saying: "He has a funny side and he has his own swagger, but he has a clear sense of who he is. He's very true to himself. And he's funny, just being Ryan. He's always saying, 'Jeah!' which isn't even English."
The story concludes with the author positing the question: since swimming is "all about pushing the limit," might Lochte, like Phelps at Beijnig, go for eight or even more golds medals @ London two years hence?
"That's like two years away!" he protested. "I'm not even thinking about that. I'm just trying to get through thhis meet and go on vacation. But I love swimming and I love racing so I'm going to try and swim as many events as my body can physically handle."
Hmmmmm.
Wonder what Troy is thinking?
And as Satchel Page once opined, "Don't look back. Smebody just might be gaining on you."
Submitted by: slickwillie32
August 26, 2010 I think Napoleon should appeal. How is he supposed to check his meds if they are labeled wrong? He can only be responsible to check for what is in the prescription he thinks he was given. Actually this is a bad decision. He can't possible know that drug A is actually drug B. But I am glad overall that the rulings were all given real thought. I still believe anyone who takes steroids or "pills" from anyone especially a trainer and does it blindly and recklessly and ends up positive for steroids should be banned for life - whatever sport they are in. Submitted by: swimmcatt1
August 26, 2010 of course, swimmcatt1, I didn´t think of it that way: if the med was labeled wrongly, there is no way the athlete can be hold accountable! You are right. It was not a sound decision! In this case, if I may, I take my first comment back. Submitted by: nadador
August 26, 2010 A report in the Australian press indicates that Napoleon will not appeal to CAS due to:
-the cost (est $20,000);
-there is a possibility that his ban could get turned into a ban of 6 months or longer (on appeal), which would put him out of the 2012 Olympics. Submitted by: hooperswim
August 27, 2010 That's too bad. It's one thing if youtake some hydroandrexpumpboostultravitaminpowder from your local GNC and it's mislabeled. But to take a prescription from a bona-fide medical professional and expect it to be what the label says...that's not unreasonable at all!
I mean, there oughta be criminal charges laid against the pharmacist. He may have a case to make a civil suit out of it. Submitted by: GigEmAggies
Reaction Time responses do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions
of Swimming World Magazine or SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
Reaction Time is provided as a service to our readers.
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