It sucks for him but there are probably endurance atheletes who take the percise amount allowed by WADA for its performancing enhancing benefits so if you make the line less stringent you allow for more enhancement.
For doping the rules need to be enforced strictly all of the time. I would suspect it was one of the Doctors that screwed up. Maybe the hockey players aren't as thourough but my friends brother who almost made the olympics in wrestling said he gave everything to his coach and team doctors prior to using it. Be it over the counter medicines, supplements or Percription drugs. If the logo changed on the protein powder he was using he sent it in again to make sure nothing else had changed.
I would suspect that this is more difficult for hockey players who aren't subject to out of competition testing all of the time.
It sucks for him but there are probably endurance atheletes who take the percise amount allowed by WADA for its performancing enhancing benefits so if you make the line less stringent you allow for more enhancement.
For doping the rules need to be enforced strictly all of the time. I would suspect it was one of the Doctors that screwed up. Maybe the hockey players aren't as thourough but my friends brother who almost made the olympics in wrestling said he gave everything to his coach and team doctors prior to using it. Be it over the counter medicines, supplements or Percription drugs. If the logo changed on the protein powder he was using he sent it in again to make sure nothing else had changed.
I would suspect that this is more difficult for hockey players who aren't subject to out of competition testing all of the time.
It would be bad for endurance athletes, and the limit is so low that even one pill would likely exceed the minimum.
Every drug tested for has a minimum to be called a positive test. Usually it's based around a reasonable quantity to ensure it was deliberately taken.
Ie. If you eat a poppy seed Muffin, you'll have extremely small amounts of codeine and morphine in your sample. However, they would be far below the minimum for a positive test
It would be bad for endurance athletes, and the limit is so low that even one pill would likely exceed the minimum.
What basis do you have to say that when junior hockey players, triathletes, nhl players, minor and major league baseball players, marathon runners and on and on have all been documented to take sudafed before their various activities. I know I typically run a 10k a minute or two faster if I take one of those 30 mg red sudafeds that are not slow release like the ones in allergies pills. There are studies that show increased performance on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531903
It does seem unlikely that slow release allergy pill could give the concentration that is above the threshold. Maybe he took it in combination with popping it with a couple of the red sudafed pills so many players take. Maybe he likes to take 2 of the allergy pills on game day because it picks him up a bit and gets him in the zone.
The threshold level is definitely enough to give you a bit of a performance boost from what I know. Not saying he is some evil guy who should be banished. But, he broke the IOC rules and should be kicked out as he was.
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I was just reading an article where they interviewed some doctors. One of them explained to the Swedish media that even if Niklas Bäckström only took one tablet a day (like all the team doctors in men's hockey agreed should be fine) there's still a chance that he would have gone over the limit. Apparently a WADA document from 2010 also says that individuals may go over the limit even if they take that dosage.
While the IOC might have been painfully slow to get back to the team, and should be scolded for it since they violated their own rules, it's beyond me as to why Tre Kronor's own doctor thought it'd be okay to gamble and instruct Bäckis to take a pill a day. Bloody amateurs.
What basis do you have to say that when junior hockey players, triathletes, nhl players, minor and major league baseball players, marathon runners and on and on have all been documented to take sudafed before their various activities. I know I typically run a 10k a minute or two faster if I take one of those 30 mg red sudafeds that are not slow release like the ones in allergies pills. There are studies that show increased performance on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531903
It does seem unlikely that slow release allergy pill could give the concentration that is above the threshold. Maybe he took it in combination with popping it with a couple of the red sudafed pills so many players take. Maybe he likes to take 2 of the allergy pills on game day because it picks him up a bit and gets him in the zone.
The threshold level is definitely enough to give you a bit of a performance boost from what I know. Not saying he is some evil guy who should be banished. But, he broke the IOC rules and should be kicked out as he was.
I admit I was guessing, but increasing heart rate, fuel consumption and temperature early in an endurance seems like a bad idea. You are probably right then
a Latvian tested positive too. He was stripped of his 8th place thing, but didn't hurt the team.
He was likely banned for the game and won't receive a medal.
No, he will likely be banned from international competition that the IOC is involved in. Possibly for a few years if not more. Some of their rules are ridiculous and some are obviously there because people abuse them.
It really isn't hard to avoid such products, he should have known better.
I was just reading an article where they interviewed some doctors. One of them explained to the Swedish media that even if Niklas Bäckström only took one tablet a day (like all the team doctors in men's hockey agreed should be fine) there's still a chance that he would have gone over the limit. Apparently a WADA document from 2010 also says that individuals may go over the limit even if they take that dosage.
While the IOC might have been painfully slow to get back to the team, and should be scolded for it since they violated their own rules, it's beyond me as to why Tre Kronor's own doctor thought it'd be okay to gamble and instruct Bäckis to take a pill a day. Bloody amateurs.
To be fair, the IOC approved that dosage.
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Ie. If you eat a poppy seed Muffin, you'll have extremely small amounts of codeine and morphine in your sample. However, they would be far below the minimum for a positive test
This isn't really hard science or anything, but Mythbusters did a short thing on this:
He did eat an entire poppy seed cake, though, ha.
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"An adherent of homeopathy has no brain. They have skull water with the memory of a brain."
The reason why there is no 'common sense' clause is because athletes would abuse it. Sucks for Backstrom but the rules are there and he was over the level.
If they did withhold the results until right before the game then it sucks for Sweden, but I don't see why the IOC would wait. Its not like having big named athletes getting suspended for drugs is good news for them.
Are you kidding me? They would wait because the whole damn drug policy is just a bunch of stupid politics.
If they tell Backstrom he is over the limit on Wednesday, and he gets a B sample taken and he's fine, he can still play.
By not telling him he's over the limit till right before the game allows them to make sure he's out of the game.
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Most people in the world, let alone professional athletes going to the olympics know that pseudoephedrine is in allergy medicine, it's in all decongestants, read the box, hell, i have a cold and read the box and i'm not going to the olympics. I have no problem with him being suspended for that game. He's an idiot for taking it in the first place, assuming he is telling the truth.
Because he shouldn't be allowed to take medications for an allergy problem. Shame on him.
He has been taking it for 7 years without a problem.
Because he shouldn't be allowed to take medications for an allergy problem. Shame on him.
He has been taking it for 7 years without a problem.
At least read the stupid thread before you post.
So he says Azure, lets wait till the facts come out. Ben Johnson's water bottle was spiked remember. He broke the rules, take the punishment. He should have been smarter about it.
All those "he should know better" posts ... I'm sure if it was the other way round (a Canadian failing the test and being informed just 2 hours prior to the game, and the Canadians losing 5-0 afterwards), this forum would go absolutely berserk. I'm not saying they lost simply because of it, since the game was too lopsided for that ... but let's say disrupting their preparation just prior to the game and taking out their best center wasn't exactly a great situation for them. The Swedes have every right to be pissed, especially since Visnovsky was allowed to play in 2010 after testing positive for the same damn thing.
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Don't pull that "you would think different if it was your guy" garbage. That is an intellectually bankrupt argument.
If a Canadian did the same thing, my opinion would be exactly the same.
??????????
Do you really think that if a star Canadian player was DQed hours before the gold medal game, for having 1.4 times the legal dosage of allergy medication in his system, and then Canada loses, that this thread would have pretty much the same feel to it?
Devo22 is right. Most people would be looking at this differently if it happened to a Canadian.
its a runner up medal who cares...does he really want one to remind him how get got disqualified from the games and his team got their asses kicked?
I bet quite a few of team Swedens players will enjoy their medal, it is the biggest international tournament in terms of prestige.
As for Bäckström, this is his first olympic medal, if he gets to keep it, that is. Sure he will enjoy it.
He should have known better, which is why I believe there is more to this story. You'll notice no other players (that I am aware of) were tested positive for the same substance, I highly doubt Backstrom is the only player out there with allergy issues.
Oh, I agree. But I also think the IOC should have informed him earlier, they should have handled the whole thing differently (not pulling him from the team's preparations, influencing the whole team so close to the game) and they should have allowed him to play, just like Visnovsky four years ago.
Also, didn't want to piss on Canadians with the "you would think different if it was your guy" garbage. It was more of a "look at it from their perspective" notion ... there's different angles to look at stuff like that, that's all I'm saying.
Oh, I agree. But I also think the IOC should have informed him earlier, they should have handled the whole thing differently (not pulling him from the team's preparations, influencing the whole team so close to the game) and they should have allowed him to play, just like Visnovsky four years ago.
Also, didn't want to piss on Canadians with the "you would think different if it was your guy" garbage. It was more of a "look at it from their perspective" notion ... there's different angles to look at stuff like that, that's all I'm saying.
He should have informed the IOC/WADA that he was taking this and filled out the forms. Talking to Team Sweden doctor does none of that. Visnovsky filled out the proper paperwork and passed two subsequent tests. Nowhere does it say that Backstrom informed the IOC, he discussed it with the Team Sweden medical team. Everybody is making assumptions that he did all of the proper stuff, maybe we should all wait until his B sample is tested and if the level is as high and if it is then there is more to this than Backstrom is saying. I feel sorry that he missed the game but all of the players are given a list of things to avoid and he chose not to, so it's on him.
