The Week That Was: Doping Crackdown Continues With Rio Less Than Two Weeks Away

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This week saw the continued evolution of the recent wave of doping allegations against Russia leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, as well as news of new positive tests from 2008 and 2012. Read below to see all the stories from this week!

The Week That Was #5 – Neil Studd Named Head Coach At Florida State

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Photo Courtesy: Florida State Athletics

Neal Studd, the head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast women’s swimming & diving team since 2007, has been named the new head coach at Florida State University this week. A five-time winner of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Coach of the Year at FGCU, Studd led that program to a 28-1 all-time conference record and 6 separate CCSA conference championships. “I am thrilled to be the new head coach at FSU,” remarked Studd. “I cannot wait to meet and start working with the team and put my own brand and coaching style in place. When I look at the success of all the teams at FSU, I am so excited for what is possible with our swimming and diving teams. I know we can do great things here and do it the right way.” Prior to serving as head coach at FGCU, Studd spent eight years working with the coaching staff at his alma mater, Florida Atlantic University.

The Week That Was #4 – IOC Announces Results From Beijing, London Retests

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Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

This week the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the results from the second round of retests from the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Games have been returned. While the IOC cannot release the names of those who have tested positive during the second round of testing, they have reported that 30 athletes from Beijing and 15 athletes from London tested positive for banned substances. Of the 30 athletes who tested positive in Beijing, a startling 23 of them were Olympic medalists. Back in May, the first wave of retested revealed that 31 athletes from 6 different sports tested positive from Beijing, while 23 athletes across 5 different sports tested positive from London. According to the IOC, all athletes who have been found to have tested positive for a banned substance will be barred from competing in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The Week That Was #3 – USA Team Captains Selected For Rio

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Photo Courtesy: USA Swimming, Twitter @usaswimming

This week USA Swimming announced the team captains for the 2016 Rio Olympic Swimming Team. Nathan Adrian, Anthony Ervin, and Michael Phelps were chosen to lead the men’s team in Rio, while Cammile Adams, Elizabeth Beisel, and Allison Schmitt will lead the women’s team. All six of the captains are returning Olympians, with Adams appearing in her second Olympics, Ervin, Beisel, Adrian, and Schmitt appearing in their third Olympics, and Michael Phelps appearing in his fifth Olympic Games. While this is a record-breaking fifth Olympic Games appearance for Phelps, it will be his first time serving as a captain for Team USA. Adrian, Phelps, and Schmitt are all defending Olympic gold medalists from the 2012 Olympics. The U.S. team has been training in San Antonio, Texas this past week before moving to their final training camp in Atlanta, Georgia. Competition will being in Rio on August 6th.
The Week That Was

The Week That Was #2 – Kris Kubik Announces Retirement After 34 Years

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Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold/Aringo

In somewhat surprising news, Associate Head Coach of Texas Men’s Swimming & Diving Kris Kubik announced on Monday that he would be retiring from coaching come August of this year. That announcement comes on the heels of Texas’ back-to-back national team titles in 2015 and 2016 that brought the program’s total team championships to 12. Having worked with Eddie Reese and the Texas men’s program for 34 seasons, Kubik played an integral part in the building of The University of Texas’ Men’s Swimming and Diving program into a perennial national power.

“There is a time in everyone’s career, be it coaching or whatever profession they so choose, that the chapter should close and one should move on to the next page and see what that holds,” Kubik stated. “There’s not a defining moment for me in terms of why this is occurring right now. I just feel at this point it would be best for the program and for me to let someone else come in, enjoy the experiences I’ve had and be a part of the very special group of guys we have right now.” 

Kubik and Reese have been one of the most successful and respected coaching duos in history, beginning their work together during the 1977-1978 season at Auburn University. The following year Reese brought Kubik with him to the University of Texas, and in the last 34 years the two have produced 32 NCAA top-five team showings, 12 NCAA team titles, 54 individual NCAA titles, 42 relay NCAA titles while also working with 32 Olympians who have won 36 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 8 bronze medals. Four members of the current UT squad, Townley Haas, Jack Conger, Clark Smith and Joseph Schooling, will be competing in Rio de Janeiro.

The Week That Was #1 – IOC Releases Conditions For Russian Athletes To Participate In Olympic Games

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Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia

With just 12 days until the official kick off of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the International Olympic Committee released a set of guidelines for Russian athletes to be eligible for the Olympic Games in light of recent doping allegations against the nation. Responding to the just released McLaren Report, which detailed alleged systematic doping that was present among Russian athletes, the IOC avoided a blanket ban of all Russian athletes. Instead, the organization will be leaving it up to each sport’s international governing body to officially bar any athletes from the Olympics. Included with the IOC’s decision was a list of standards all Russian athletes must meet in order to compete at the Games, which will then be reviewed by each sport’s individual governing body. That means that FINA will be responsible for determining the eligibility of the 35 aquatic athletes that are headed to Rio. Notably, Yuliya Efimova, who was just last week reinstated to compete at the Olympics, will once again be ineligible due to her past doping sanctions, one of the standards that was put forward by the IOC. The IOC’s statement also calls on WADA to “fully review their anti-doping system” and states additional disciplinary action may be taken following the conclusion of the Olympic Games.

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Julie Andrade
Julie Andrade
7 years ago

Keep the dopers out.

Eric
Eric
7 years ago
Reply to  Julie Andrade

yup, keep them out. They teach our youth how to lie, not how to work for it.

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