Sharapova Shock

[-SharonA-]

She has failed a drug test. I am so surprised, she who projects a squeaky clean image.

She reckons she has diabetes and her medication was banned as of 1st January.

[Neveracrossword]

Agchristie, my last post was in response to 'it is questionable whether it is a performance-enhancing drug at all!'

[agchristie]

@ Neveracrossword

Yes, thanks. I read a link and can't find it now where an expert stated that the drug could in some cases have the opposite effect!

Quite a few sites are predicting a 1 year ban.

[DTCwordfan]

I agree with Hopkirk about your haste to defend her, agc.

This sums it up - "Meldonium (also known as Mildronate, THP, MET-88, Mildronāts or Quaterine) is an anti-ischemic drug that is currently manufactured and marketed by Grindeks, a pharmaceutical company based in Latvia. It is used in Eastern European and ex-Soviet countries for heart conditions, and is sold online. It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. Since January 2016, it has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of substances banned from use by athletes.Some athletes were using it before it was banned."

She has lived in the States for long enough and if she is worth the assumed nigh-on $200 mln, she could have - and would have - found a more worthy and trustworthy replacement drug that would have taken out the diabetic-heart issues......

Nope I don't believe her story - and given your attempted insult earlier, I will ignore that before I suggest phials of Meldonium all around.

[agchristie]

@ DTC

I hope you will accept my apology. It was TIC but on reading back it was unfair.

I will ask you this, do you believe that she should be banned for as long as possible in line with Hopkirk's assertion?

[DTCwordfan]

Nope - 4 may be too long, agc as there may be a reasonable element of doubt on the basis of complacency.

However, in my uninformed view, 6 months to 18 would be reasonable as a message about athletes not being aware of current regulations should be passed on - after all, ignorance of tax regulations changing or even driving rules is not a defence in our lives, is it?

It does surprise me that her medical support and diet weren't up on this though - maybe she can sue them........

She will also survive financially, Nike and Coke or not.........

[DTCwordfan]

and yes I do....I would also welcome a button for *** answer to go along with the best one!

[DTCwordfan]

begins with a, middle and last letters of s......

[agchristie]

DTC - You are in the running for best answer there, shame it's not my thread :(

Balanced answer. Now, where is my AB performance enhancing solution syringe....

[DTCwordfan]

just a tot of gin will do for me, agc.....

[agchristie]

DTC

Also known as 'Maria's Ruin' ;)

[EDDIE51]

I was fully prepared to believe she was an innocent victim of a medical mishap until I read the reports that Meldonium enhances blood flow and so increases endurance and stamina, and that was banned because it was being used as a performance enhancing drug by athletes. Also that a normal course of treatment is 4 to 6 months! Ten years use looks VERY suspicious!
Sorry but 'guilty as charged ' in my opinion !
This story also increases my view that all top level athletes have to be viewed as drug abusers, and they only stay 'clean' as long the substances they use are not discovered and banned.
This IMO is 'The nail in her coffin', how could one of the richest athletes in the world, with a huge team of professional advisers and trainers not realize that a drug she had been taking for over 10 years was now on the banned list ?? !!

[agchristie]

Eddie > Also that a normal course of treatment is 4 to 6 months! Ten years use looks VERY suspicious! Sorry but 'guilty as charged ' in my opinion ! This story also increases my view that all top level athletes have to be viewed as drug abusers, and they only stay 'clean' as long the substances they use are not discovered and banned.

Eddie, many drugs have a 'normal' use timeframe but as long as it is approved by a physician a drug can be taken for much longer. Sharapova would not take a product for so long if it wasn't safe to do so. Also,drugs can be used for a variety of reasons against their conventional use. For example, the drug Odansetron is used to treat cancer sufferers and yet with some patients suffering hyperemesis they can be prescribed at the discretion of a doctor if it is demonstrated to have been effective as opposed to cyclisine which may not work.

I disagree with your comment regarding how a competitor is viewed as a drug user until proven otherwise. All competitors should be seen as clean until proven otherwise. I can't imagine you stood face to face with Usain Bolt saying he is guilty until he is tested to reveal otherwise!

I am not denying that Sharapova has taken a banned substance but there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that she has cheated by doing so and also the contention that it was inappropriate for her to take it for her various ailments.

[Hopkirk]

I think where we differ, Ag, is in your last line "....for her to take it for her various ailments".

I for one do not think for a moment that she was taking it for any ailment, but instead it was for its possible performance enhancing properties.

[Smowball]

If, and a big if, she missed the latest info which was apparently in an email and you had to click a link to see the updated list of banned drugs - I find it impossible that this multi millionaire tennis players team of nutritionists, PR gurus,managers, physios etc ALL also didn't see it??? Sorry I don't buy it.

[EDDIE51]

Sorry, I still don't 'buy' the innocent victim bit.
Meldonium was not just banned overnight , it's use as a performance enhancing drug had been of concern for years. It is simply unbelievable that she was unaware of the concerns and kept taking it after it had been banned.
There are other more suitable drugs available for all her 'health problems' that do not have the side effect of enhancing stamina and endurance.
Further Meldonium is not licensed for use in the USA where she is resident so it can not have been prescribed there.

[agchristie]

Hopkirk > I for one do not think for a moment that she was taking it for any ailment, but instead it was for its possible performance enhancing properties.

I respect your opinion but to say that is tantamount to stating she was dishonest. It will be interesting to see if the authorities view the evidence as intentional.

[agchristie]

Smowball > I find it impossible that this multi millionaire tennis players team of nutritionists, PR gurus,managers, physios etc ALL also didn't see it???

Maybe they did but assumed Sharapova had acted on the revised ruling? Wires can easily get crossed. We don't know which member(s) of her support team was responsible for ensuring compliance.

[EDDIE51]

^We will see what happens , but I expect her to be found guilty and receive a long ban, there is just too much evidence against her excuse.

[agchristie]

Eddie, I think she will be found guilty also, as I've stated I don't believe she intentionally set out to cheat.

Here's an interview with her lawyer:

http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/03/07/maria-sharapova-failed-drug-test-john-haggerty-attorney

[Canary42]

I don't think she intended to . . . . get caught.