Olympic Games and doping

The "ROC" was formed so athletes could still compete but not for their country.... This is the part (well, one of the parts) that I don't understand. The "R" stands for "Russian" so how are they not competing for their country? lol. Even if they can't play the national anthem or march in under their flag they're still competing for Russia. There will still be celebrations and rewards for those who do well. 

The whole thing is ridiculous, and I don't understand why Russia gets all these second chances. 

And as several other athletes have said today already “This is the day the Olympic spirit died”

If she did accidentally take her grandfather's medication, what medication did she think she was taking?

Commentators - and former professional and medalist figure skaters - Tara Lipinsky (spelling?) and Johnny Weir have a nice interview on YouTube about this subject. The interviewer inquired about the minority status of the skater in question -- Tara said she had been testing since she was 11 years old and has always understood the impact of what goes in her body - similarly Johnny said said he'd been drug testing since he was 13 -- each of them said that their parent would call "hot lines" to make sure that ordinary cold medicine wouldn't be a prohibited item!
Yes - the skater in question is a minor -- but she should totally be aware of what is and is not a banned substance. I simply do not believe the "confused by grandfathers medication" excuse.

The Olympics are a joke that, IMHO, no one should take seriously. They have proved it over and over again.

Am I the only one who thinks that maybe her coaches/doctors etc gave it to her to improve her performance and told her it was something else?  I don't trust them and she is a child.  I mean I get the issues, but I do feel for her and do not trust the Russian adults in charge of her. 

Oh my, you rare unicorn Pea! A fellow biathlon follower here, whoa.

*cough Loginov cough* (Another Russian caught doping but years ago - he did have a 2-year ban by the International Biathlon Union after they retested his sample and confirmed EPO and they also withdrew the titles he won in the meantime.)

Putin flew over and was in the stands for the Opening Ceremony despite his country not officially competing. He had meetings and did PR with Xi Jinping while there. The ROC athletes are supposed to wear neutral gear approved by the IOC but most of them have added the Russian flag as an armband over their approved jacket for these Games. It's ridiculous. And a very public fuck you to the West while China and Russia show that they plan on being the next (very democratic, obviously) rulers of the world, economically, politically and ideologically. 

I'm probably the dissenting voice over the CAS decision as I've seen them take the same route for other (non Russian) athletes in other sports. I totally expected them to let her compete while they allow her defense to build a case (and possibly retest both samples?). It's still a very nasty smear on these Olympics that will be remembered. Her Russian coaches are throwing her innocence out like a shield: they let her walk alone through the press to the rink the day after we found she'd tested positive, letting her look young and forlorn on the world stage and now they're playing the dumb minor card by claiming she accidentally took a grandparent's medication. Bollocks and we all know it. But hey, that's the Russian propaganda machine. Now if only they limited their bullshit theories and media manipulations to their athletes... 

Well, the figure skating thread was intended for chat about the competition, not so much for an overview of the history of doping. I did report this story on that thread from the start, but wanted to also continue to appreciate the efforts of the skaters who have worked and sacrificed to get there. I think that their work and sacrifice is just as real as scandal and corruption.

For everyone saying this ruling shows how corrupt the IOC is, the ruling was not made by the IOC. They have no jurisdiction. The ruling was made by the CAS, more info here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Arbitration_for_Sport The IOC actually protested this ruling.

She will not be back for the next Olympics. Skating fans know this. Her coach relies on starving the skaters to delay puberty and keep them light enough to get the jumps done. Her skaters burn out from overwork, eating disorders, injuries.

It is great that Johnny Weir had adults around him who had his best interests at heart. How do we know if that is the case for Kamila? Did Johnny send his water bottle out to a lab to be analyzed before taking a drink after his coach handed it to him? No, because he didn't have to. Maybe Kamila should have. The idea that she could have been doping without the knowledge and/or assistance of her coach is as ludicrous as the "I drank my grandpa's medicine" story.

I find it interesting that Johnny is so vehemently in favor of blaming the skater in this case. Could that have anything to do with his fetish for all things Russian? Before the Olympics Johnny spent quite a bit of time at this training facility, filming and interviewing the skaters. It was unprecedented behind the scenes access for the Olympics coverage and now will of course not be shown. Johnny doesn't criticize the coach because if the skater takes the blame and the coach comes through clear he will still be in her good graces and still be one of the "Russian insiders". He has been hyping these skaters and this coach and her training methods since before the last Olympics. When the blame is handed out for corruption in the sport, he's better get in line for his share.

You 

Did you seriously suggest some random American who went to cover Russian skaters is to blame - I mean seriously?  The Russians are CHEATERS they showed us that in full color in 2014 and the IOC didn't give a flying fuck.  And started this bullshit ROC - cause you know not playing their national anthem matters.


Feel free to keep talking about figure skating, as you know that's what's actually going on here and is important - oh wait - ignoring a country that gives heart medication to TEENAGERS is what's actually important. 

No, I did not "seriously suggest" that some random American doped her.  I seriously suggested that Johnny has more irons in the fire than the well being of the sport and the skaters nd people citing him as an authority without being aware of that should know that.
I also never suggested that this wasn't an important matter,  but does every second of every day have to be filled with arguing over issues?  Isn't there room for appreciation and enjoyment also?  I for one choose not to focus so narrowly on negativity that I miss out on those good things.

I was an active participant - including actually praising Valieva when she landed the quads - I also noted the blatant hand slap of let's talk about skating when multiple people brought up the controversy - perhaps you need to go back and read what was said - as it wasn't actually subtle - the Russians are cheating - so what's the point of  discussing figure skating in that context?

Hmm, I really think you need to reread the figure skating thread. I think everyone was in agreement that she was doping and needed to be disqualified.

I really wish the focus was on her horrible coaching team of Eteri Tutberidze instead of just focusing on Kamila.

I think many skating fans, not just the ones that watch every 4 years, but the ones who watch closely every year know there has been an issue and not just doping but blatant over scoring of the Russian girls that are coached by Eteri.

The whole system needs to be overhauled. It was always strange how only girls coached by Eteri Tutberidze had consistent quads. And girls who are coached by her get bonus points.

Sadly, I really don't think there will be any consequences for the Russians. Eteri Tutberidze is held up as some model coach. However, it's a known fact that her skaters never compete beyond 17/18 because their bodies are so damaged.