Ivan Basso. (CSC)Basso Suspended for Two Years
Ivan Basso will have to sit out of two years of competition.
The Italian Cycling Federation handed down the punishment today, after Basso testified in front of the Italian Olympic Committee, which serves as the national anti doping agency.
Basso will be able to begin racing again in October 2008, as he has been out of competition since 2006, due to a suspension from his team.
The hearing was held because Basso was accused of “possession of banned substances and methods” and attempting to use a banned substance or method.
Basso, 29, had been implicated in the Operacion Puerto investigation and admitted to “attempting doping” but never following through with it.
Speaking to reporters, Basso said “I accept the sentence. I knew the situation wasn't an easy one. I'm going to continue to train and plan to return in 2009. I've got to look to the future.”
He added, “I made a mistake but I have never asked for discounts or pity”.
It is not known if the ruling will be appealed. Basso said he would leave that decision to his lawyer.
The International Cycling Union wanted a two year suspension while CONI wanted a 21 month ban. UCI said reducing the penalty to 21 months would not “confirm to regulations”.
CONI said that Basso’s penalty should be lessened because it was his first offense and Basso cooperated with authorities. The federation said that his collaboration was not of “substantial help”. Basso said he told them “everything” he knew.
Ullrich Could Lose Gold Medal
IOC President Jacques Rogge says cyclist Jan Ullrich will be stripped of a gold medal if there is proof of doping infractions at the 2000 Games.
“If I see proof that Jan Ullrich was doped during the Sydney Games when he won Olympic gold, I will rearrange the standing. The World Anti-Doping Agency allows us to go back eight years and I would certainly do so,” Rogge tells a newspaper in the Netherlands.
Ullrich’s name has been linked to the ongoing Operation Puerto investigation and several of his former teammates admitted to using EPO during their careers. Ullrich has denied doping.
Ullrich recently tried to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to “rehabilitate his reputation”. A spokesman for Merkel said “a meeting between the chancellor and Jan Ullrich is not considered appropriate”.
T-Mobile, sponsors of Ullrich’s former team, withdrew its $1 million sponsorship of the Tour de France as a result of the scandal. The money will now go to pay for drug tests in Germany.
T-Mobile is attempting to repair cycling’s image in Germany.
Three Cyclists Said to Have Tested Positive at Giro
High levels of attention on doping in cycling apparently may not have been enough to stop several riders from using banned substances at the Giro D’Italia.
Cyclists Alessandro Petacchi, and Leonardo Piepoli tested with abnormal levels of banned substance during last month’s Giro, Italian media reported Thursday.
The Gazzeta dello Sport that high levels of salbutamol, a substance normally used to treat asthma, were found in Petacchi and Piepoli, who both proclaim their innocence.
The third cyclist who tested positive was cleared of wrong doing.
UCI Asked for Amnesty
The punishment for the riders in Operacion Puerto might be lessened if the president of the Spanish Cycling Federation is to have his way.
Fulgencio Sanchez sent a letter to UCI President Patrick McQuaid asking him to grant amnesty to riders.
A press release from the federation said “for a year RFEC has worked with the political and judicial estate powers to have closure for Operacion Puerto”.
They added “as you know, with the judicial situation of Operacion Puerto it makes it difficult for us to advance with the swiftness that we desire…in any case, an amnesty has been asked for”.
McQuaid and UCI have not responded to the request.
China Pledges Clean Team
The Chinese Olympic Committee has vowed to field a drug-free team for the Beijing Games.
Officials from COC said Thursday they will increase the number of tests to achieve the goal.
Zhao Jian, head of Anti-Doping Commission of the COC said “we want our athletes to play a fair and clean game. Our aim is to ensure that no one in the Chinese delegation uses performance-enhancing substances”.
More than 9,000 tests were performed last year, and it is expected that more than 10,000 will be carried out this year.
Paralympian to Appeal Suspension
Canadian Paralympian Jeff Adams will appeal his two year suspension from testing positive for cocaine.
Adams’ lawyer Tim Danson says the cocaine was not in Adams’ system during competition, offers no performance enhancing qualities, and is not prohibited out of competition.
Adams claims a contaminated catheter was the source of cocaine and denies ever using the drug.
The appeal will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Speaking at press conference Adams said he hopes “this is going to be a case that shakes the drug testing world”.
At the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Adams won 5 medals, including two gold medals. He used to be the world record holder in the 400 and 1,500 meters.
Jeff Adams. (Athletics Canada)
International Paralympic Committee Suspends Skier
Italian alpine skier Daila Dameno has lost an appeal of her suspension by the International Paralympic Committee over a positive test at an IPC alpine skiing world cup in January.
Dameno tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic.
Dameno claimed that she required use of furosemide for health reasons, despite not having made any application for a therapeutic use exemption. She also claimed that the two year sanction was disproportionately long.
Chambers Says Gold Medal Not Possible without Drugs
Former sprinter Dwain Chambers tells the BBC he doesn’t believe that winning a gold medal can be done without drugs.
“It’s possible, but that person that’s taking the drugs has to be having a real bad day”.
Chambers tested positive for performance enhancing drugs at the 2003 Athletics World Championships. Chambers was banned for life from the IOC and banned for two years from the IAAF.
In the interview, Chambers said athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs for which there are no tests.
“It’s simple. Science always moves faster than the tests”.
Austrian Parliament Passes Anti Doping Laws
After doping scandals have rocked the Austrian sports world, the Austrian parliament will enact laws to prevent doping.
The laws were approved by every party in the parliament and create an independent national anti doping agency and a standard pool to select athletes for out of competition testing.
Also contained in the measure are stiffer penalties for athletes who dope. A serious enough offense could merit prosecution in Austrian courts. The law also increases funding for education and prevention.
The law was created in response to the scandal from the Turin Olympics when Austrian skiers were found with blood doping equipment. Six athletes received lifetime bans from the IOC and the Austrian Olympic Committee was fined $1 million by the IOC.
The AOC then imposed lifetime bans on 14 officials associated with the scandal.
FIVB Suspends Three
The International Volleyball Federation levied three suspensions Friday.
Cuban Osmany Juantorena Portuondo was suspended for two years while Domincans Pichardo Evelyn Carreras and team doctor Maria Josefina Cordero Santos were suspended for one and four years respectively.
The three were on trial for anti-doping violations according to FIVB medical regulations.
Anti Doping Organization for Rugby World Cup Announced
Organizers for the upcoming Rugby World Cup announced the appointment of the French Anti-Doping Agency as the organization that will handle drug tests during competition.
The AFLD is the leading anti doping organization in France. They will provide sample collection and processing.
Fijian Rugby Player Caught Using Marijuana
The International Rugby Board’s zero tolerance policy and crackdown on drug users appears to be working.
Fijian rugby star Rupeni Caucaunibuca tested positive for marijuana this week, the second Fijian to do so in six weeks.
Fiji Rugby Union chief executive Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua said “apart from what I have read there is nothing else that we have received and that is why it is hard to comment on this matter”.
Compiled by Ed Hula III
Your best source of news on the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
