Hmmm

It stinks. I'm not on my high horse, but, although I suspect that she is clean, I also suspect that Russian people probably beleive their athletes are clean. Bottom line is just that - if she was Russian she'd be banned.

And why the **** did she wait until she'd blobbed three times before she decided to appeal against the first missed test? My daughter is a student nurse - she'd be sacked/thrown off her course for such unprofessionalism, and I'm sure many of you work in jobs or have family/friends who work in a three-strikes-and-your-out environment.

Nah, it leaves a bad, bad taste. Doubtless she's expected to win a medal, the cynic in me thinks.

 

Probably to be able to play the poor innocent card.

3 misses and then appeals and get one off....

 

So it then becomes the three and a half strikes and you're out. Not on, is it? Especially when we're (rightly) ostracising Russians for cheating and SEEMING to cheat.

 

I think basically they make up rules as they go along most of the time.

 

I strongly am a zero tolerance, one chance believer when it comes to enhancing drugs.

There should be no wiggle room and no coming back.

 

Zero tolerance should work both ways then. Sacking and banning for the testers who report false results or don't follow correct procedures? It's their profession too so why are they allowed to mess up?

The lab that tested Sakho should be closed for incompetence too? #zerotolerance

 

how on earth would the lab be incompetent there astro..... they did the test and found what they were supposed to. they didn't make a list with a substance that is or is not on wada's list... supposedly.

 

Why did they test for something no other lab tests for? Incorrect procedures. 5 year ban. #zerotolerance

 

thats not how tests work.....

thye tests in accordance with the uefa requirements. barking up the wrong tree there.

 

Armistead is a fair bet for Gold as she is current road race world champion and very successful on the womens world tour.

 

doped to the gills

 

yup.

 

So another victim of knee jerk online response to Dodgey reporting before reporters actually have the full facts it seems.

First strike: not actually a strike as the tester didn't follow procedure..and Armistead was where shed notified she would be. Tested clean day after.

Second strike...an admin audit. No test actually planned on the date but a paperwork audit later revealed if they had tried to test her she wasn't where she said she would be...so not a failed test or even a missed test in reality. Just a discrepancy.

Third Strike. British Cycling's fault as the staff member who had oversaw her location reporting had left but no one told the athlete he'd left. So missed test yes technically but a comunication lapse rather than a deliberate attempt to avoid testing.

I mean it's ultimately the athletes personal responsibility to make sure she or her support team keep Testers up to date but if she doesn't know the guy who she believes is doing it is no longer there how does she rectify the situation.

She's been tested 16 times this year and her blood passport is clean.

I see nothing untoward here other than some athletes have big support teams in place and others have to try an compete with that with smaller teams while maintaining the same busy schedule.

Maybe if there weren't so many different bodies responsible for the same thing it would be more transparent to the athletes and the public.

That and everybody ignoring media reports until we are sure the whole story is confirmed.

 

Yep, what I said before.

If Rio had been a cyclist he would have missed about 340 tests a year.

 

Nah im sure shes dodgy now.. why hasnt she appealed the third on as well then.

 

Plus now i believe theres a phone app that you can personally update for these guys tobkbow exactly.

 

She's did...they didn't accept it as a good enough reason...which is fair enough to the letter of the law...if they'd let her away with it there would be a dangerous precedent set that someone other than the athlete was responsible for informing them of the athletes whereabouts.

It's harsh but I agree with that decision: the lesson she learned was don't trust anyone else with this as it's your career at stake.

 

That was Ben Johnson's original argument after Sueol "Don't blame me, my coach and doctor said they were just vitamins, squire".