16 May 2012

Canberra's Bianca Elmir rubbed out of Olympic with doping ban

| johnboy
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Foxsports have the sad news that Canberra boxer Bianca Elmir has tested positive to diuretics (banned because they can mask more serious performance enhancing substances) and won’t be going to the London Olympics:

According to reports, Elmir tested positive to a diuretic while competing at the Australian titles in February where she won the 51kg division.

The weight class is one of three divisions being held in the first women’s boxing program at an Olympics, but Elmir was banned from competing at the world championships, which are being held in China – the main qualification route to London.

Boxing Australia officials refused to comment on the issue, which is still before the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), the 30-year-old facing a maximum two-year ban.

Elmir was replaced in the Australian squad at the world championships by Kristy Harris, who lost in the first round.

Elmir reportedly told ASADA she took the tablet to stop swollen ankles on long flights, having been given the medication from a friend while training in Ireland before the national titles.

Got the medication from a friend? Oh dear.

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justin heywood said :

Jeez, what a tough, cynical crowd. Who hasn’t made a stupid mistake that, if discovered, could have risked their job, their relationship, their health?

The difference here is that this woman came within an ace of attaining a goal that most of us only dream of – the Olympic Games. That she lost the chance because of a stupid mistake only makes it more tragic.

So you’re assuming that it was a mistake? Why?

justin heywood said :

That she lost the chance because of a stupid mistake only makes it more tragic.

But its her bagging of the testing and appeals process, ASADA and saying its not fair that gets up my nose – both from her, and her manager/publicist. The rules and medications are there for all and sundry to see. It IS fair.

johnboy said :

I’m really sorry, but “a mate gave me this pill” is really not good enough.

Totally agreed. Many of us make mistakes but we arent moments away from competing in the Olympics. After going through years of hard work why would you stuff it up by taking something given to you by a friend? Athletes at her level are aware of the strict rules on drugs but yet she still did it?

I feel very sorry for her, but really she has bought this on herself.

I’m really sorry, but “a mate gave me this pill” is really not good enough.

justin heywood7:16 pm 17 May 12

Jeez, what a tough, cynical crowd. Who hasn’t made a stupid mistake that, if discovered, could have risked their job, their relationship, their health?

The difference here is that this woman came within an ace of attaining a goal that most of us only dream of – the Olympic Games. That she lost the chance because of a stupid mistake only makes it more tragic.

Madam Cholet said :

She may have taken it to reduce ankle sweilling, but she’s proven herself a complete dummy. It just doesn’t cut it to say that you didn’t think it would matter. I’m not an elite athlete, but if I was I wouldn’t even take a headache tablet without checking.

Yes Disinformation, we have all answered our phones whilst driving, but we also are very aware that if we get caught we have no excuses and will pay the price. I’ll remember her as the dummy who could’ve made it the first time round if she just used her brain. I’d also advise her to sack her coach/manager.

+1

Foolish foolish girl. An elite athlete doesnt take a pill from a friend. Stupid.

#34SnapperJack said: “Yeah, JB. I saw that front cover of the local gay magazine Fuse with her picture on Channel Nine’s news. Well, she’s a woman who boxes – what would you expect?”

What does this mean?

“bam bam”? oh please….

johnboy said :

“part of the family”

Yeah, JB. I saw that front cover of the local gay magazine Fuse with her picture on Channel Nine’s news. Well, she’s a woman who boxes – what would you expect?

Madam Cholet10:59 am 17 May 12

She may have taken it to reduce ankle sweilling, but she’s proven herself a complete dummy. It just doesn’t cut it to say that you didn’t think it would matter. I’m not an elite athlete, but if I was I wouldn’t even take a headache tablet without checking.

Yes Disinformation, we have all answered our phones whilst driving, but we also are very aware that if we get caught we have no excuses and will pay the price. I’ll remember her as the dummy who could’ve made it the first time round if she just used her brain. I’d also advise her to sack her coach/manager.

devils_advocate10:49 am 17 May 12

johnboy said :

Interesting.

Bianca’s a Green staffer.

According to the story, a *former* greens staffer.

“part of the family”

devils_advocate10:46 am 17 May 12

HenryBG said :

Or, maybe, they’re at the Library reading books instead of working on an acquired brain injury at the gym?

Dumb people are too busy reading books at the library to go to a boxing gym? Fair enough.

LSWCHP said :

Why can’t athletes take whatever drugs they damn well please?

If someone wants to choke down 5 kilos of mixed roids and speed so that they can run 100m in 2.3 seconds, then so what? They will probably suffer health problems as a result of doing so, but if they’re adults who’ve made an informed decision then what’s the problem?

Absolutely – let athletes take whatever they want. But *IF* they get chucked out for producing a positive test because the rules say drugs X Y and Z are banned, don’t bloody whinge about it…

LSWCHP said :

Why can’t athletes take whatever drugs they damn well please?

If someone wants to choke down 5 kilos of mixed roids and speed so that they can run 100m in 2.3 seconds, then so what? They will probably suffer health problems as a result of doing so, but if they’re adults who’ve made an informed decision then what’s the problem?

I’ve never understood why they pander to the yanks and test for cannabis – it’s not exactly a performance-enhancening drug, so how is having a spliff any kind of cheating? It’s just gratuitous persecution.

Why can’t athletes take whatever drugs they damn well please?

If someone wants to choke down 5 kilos of mixed roids and speed so that they can run 100m in 2.3 seconds, then so what? They will probably suffer health problems as a result of doing so, but if they’re adults who’ve made an informed decision then what’s the problem?

Disinformation said :

…. her split second decision to try and avoid swollen ankles on an international flight.

Yes, I can see it now:

“Uh, oh, I’m about to get swollen ankles! Quick! What do I do?! I only have a split second to decide! I know! I’ll ignore the fact I’m a professional athlete! I’ll quickly pop this random pill that some random person gave me for some random reason definitely not related to getting swollen ankles because this is definitely just a split-second decision! Gulp!”

Ha ha. Comedy gold from Disinformation.

“None of you have ever answered your phone in your car by hand, or held your steering wheel with your knee, failed to check your pockets before throwing clothes in the wash basket, checked your pockets for keys before shutting the door, or sent an imperfect text or email.”

I have done all that.

One thing I haven’t done is take substances banned by my sport. So whilst I may be an imperfect text sender I’m not a drug cheat.

Grow up a bit. I’ve lived, trained and competed with elite level athletes, They all know to check. Your excusing of them is pathetic.

“And if she turns up at the next Olympics and picks a gold up for her trouble, will you remember her as the girl you think is a drug cheat or the girl who came good to win a medal for Australia?”

Yes I will remember her as a drug cheat, but she will have ‘done her time’ so to speak then. You may have heard of Dwain Chambers? I mean you’re ‘associated’ with elite athletes and all

Disinformation said :

1. No mention has been made of the amount of time prior to this wherethere has been no evidence of any drug taking.
2. A drug which is used as a masking agent was found. No traces of any other drugs have been detected.

Do you understand what a masking agent does? The whole point of a masking agent is to remove any traces of other drugs, hence why they are not allowed. Just because someone only tests positive once in an olympic year and has a clean history before that, hardly excuses the positive test.

Disinformation said :

I am associated with many elite level athletes across several sports. This should not be unusual for people in Canberra. Not one of them has a comprehensive knowledge of what compounds are in common use which are technically banned substances.

We are not just talking about junior footy on the weekend, we are talking the Olympics, the highest sporting level an athlete can achieve in their life. If someones entire life goal (with the detailed emphasis on eatting perfectly, training perfectly) is about making the olympics, they would have to be living under a rock to not know about drug testing. The mere fact that theyve even made it to that level presumably means theyve probably been drug tested before and would have been talked to about this issue by their doctor/manager/coach, so should be familiar with the rules.

Disinformation said :

And if she turns up at the next Olympics and picks a gold up for her trouble, will you remember her as the girl you think is a drug cheat or the girl who came good to win a medal for Australia?

Ill remember her as the girl who broke the rules, she is not necessarily a cheat, no-one has claimed she has cheated. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, but an olympic athlete testing positive to a banned substance just months out from the Olympics, seems at worst deceptive and at best careless (how many olympians are careless about their health and wellbeing in the lead-up to the Olympics?)

http://asada.gov.au/media/index.html

Read it straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak – she was tested in february. the components are banned inside and outside of competition.

Even if you don’t know what compounds were in that pill – even the “check your substances” page shows the generic “diuretic” as banned.

I just read the Canberra Times story on her.

She admits she took it. That isn’t the point. The point is she shouldn’t have taken it. The ASADA lists of prohibited drugs are easy to find and the bottom line is – anything on the list is prohibited.

I can’t believe she is that naive – and both her and her coach are referring to ASADA are a law unto themselves. No – its the rules to ensure ALL athletes play by the same rules. Like them or lump them, if you play the game you need to know the rules – and if you break one, then its your own fault.

Disinformation5:21 pm 16 May 12

Ah, yes.
Once again the reporting of all the facts by the media who attempt to give an unbiased account which can’t be interpreted in any way other than the truth.
1. No mention has been made of the amount of time prior to this wherethere has been no evidence of any drug taking.
2. A drug which is used as a masking agent was found. No traces of any other drugs have been detected.

I am associated with many elite level athletes across several sports. This should not be unusual for people in Canberra.
Not one of them has a comprehensive knowledge of what compounds are in common use which are technically banned substances.

Everyone here of course can be judgemental because they’ve always maintained an impervious barrier of strategic thought which considers all the implications of their every action.

None of you have ever answered your phone in your car by hand, or held your steering wheel with your knee, failed to check your pockets before throwing clothes in the wash basket, checked your pockets for keys before shutting the door, or sent an imperfect text or email.

And if she turns up at the next Olympics and picks a gold up for her trouble, will you remember her as the girl you think is a drug cheat or the girl who came good to win a medal for Australia?

Maybe you’ll remember her as a girl who didn’t need to “come good”, but suffered significantly more than the average person for her split second decision to try and avoid swollen ankles on an international flight. But I doubt that very much as you’ve all got perfect recall as well.

devils_advocate said :

Having spent many hours in various boxing gyms I’d say the distribution is fairly representative of society in general, but perhaps with the bottom tail of the distribution chopped off, as the truly dumb are incapable of grasping the strategic elements and tend to self-select out. Or, they’re too busy throwing around unfounded generalisations about things they know nothing about (see above) to devote the neccesary time to training.

Or, maybe, they’re at the Library reading books instead of working on an acquired brain injury at the gym?

Kerryhemsley said :

chewy14 said :

vg said :

HenryBG said :

What a completely rubbish excuse from a professional athlete.

Then again – people don’t go into boxing out of respect for their or other people’s grey matter.

The respected Canberra orthopaedic surgeon who is a former national amateur boxing champ who turned pro may disagree, as would Tom Uren, respected former minister.

But uninformed stereotypes are much easier to collapse into when you have no idea aren’t they

Wow, two whole people that competed in boxing and weren’t a bit thick?

C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?

As for the story, I can’t believe she’s going with the Shane Warne defence.

The Australian Super Heavyweight contender at the London games doesn’t fit the stereotype either.

http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athlete/johan-linde

He will fit the stereotype with a few more seasons of knocks to the head under his belt.

“C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?”

A large part of our broader society doesn’t fit that category. I’ve met doctors with the life skills of fish, I’ve met dumb tradies who paid cash for their 4th SS ute.

Your average boxer won’t split an atom, but they also wouldn’t pay for prostitutes on their company’s credit card either.

If people want to constantly harp on about the dementia aspect of boxing you might want to do some further reading and see its not confined to ‘combat’ sports….but you’d have to go further than wiki and 2 secs on Google.

Walk into an old people’s home and you’ll find 50yos with early onset dementia who’ve never played sport in their lives. If it was that simple to work out how dementia occurred it would be that simple to cure or entirely prevent it. If you think all boxers get it then use that internet again and find contemporary videos of Foreman or George Chuvalo. Chuvalo was never knocked off his feet in 93 professional fights against the likes of Ali, Foreman, Frasier and Patterson.

To stereotype all fighters and stupid and eventual sufferers of dementia is the only stupid part of the discussion, often pushed by people who couldn’t knock the skin off a custard, but know everything

She was given the diuretic by a friend? I suppose it sounds more credible than when Warnie said his mum gave him diuretics.

Why isn’t her coach monitoring what she is taking? Why isn’t her “manager” or doctor being made aware of what she is putting into her system? Granted, ultimately she had the final decision, but surely at that level of competition it really is a team effort. Sadly I feel they have let her down as much as she let herself down.

devils_advocate said :

chewy14 said :

C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?

A large proportion of society in general aren’t exactly rocket surgeons – in my experience, those that throw around unfounded generalisations about things they know nothing about betray themselves as facing particular challenges in the intellectual arena.

Having spent many hours in various boxing gyms I’d say the distribution is fairly representative of society in general, but perhaps with the bottom tail of the distribution chopped off, as the truly dumb are incapable of grasping the strategic elements and tend to self-select out. Or, they’re too busy throwing around unfounded generalisations about things they know nothing about (see above) to devote the neccesary time to training.

Unfounded generalisations like amateur boxing can cause brain damage?:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070502093035.htm

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_pugilistica

and another 100 links if you want me to spend more than 2secs on google.

ps. I’ve also spent plenty of time in boxing gyms over the years so perhaps your critique of my comment could just be further proof. I’ve got nothing against boxing or boxers in particular, my comment was simply based on my own observations.

devils_advocate2:56 pm 16 May 12

chewy14 said :

C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?

A large proportion of society in general aren’t exactly rocket surgeons – in my experience, those that throw around unfounded generalisations about things they know nothing about betray themselves as facing particular challenges in the intellectual arena.

Having spent many hours in various boxing gyms I’d say the distribution is fairly representative of society in general, but perhaps with the bottom tail of the distribution chopped off, as the truly dumb are incapable of grasping the strategic elements and tend to self-select out. Or, they’re too busy throwing around unfounded generalisations about things they know nothing about (see above) to devote the neccesary time to training.

Kerryhemsley2:43 pm 16 May 12

chewy14 said :

vg said :

HenryBG said :

What a completely rubbish excuse from a professional athlete.

Then again – people don’t go into boxing out of respect for their or other people’s grey matter.

The respected Canberra orthopaedic surgeon who is a former national amateur boxing champ who turned pro may disagree, as would Tom Uren, respected former minister.

But uninformed stereotypes are much easier to collapse into when you have no idea aren’t they

Wow, two whole people that competed in boxing and weren’t a bit thick?

C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?

As for the story, I can’t believe she’s going with the Shane Warne defence.

The Australian Super Heavyweight contender at the London games doesn’t fit the stereotype either.

http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athlete/johan-linde

vg said :

HenryBG said :

What a completely rubbish excuse from a professional athlete.

Then again – people don’t go into boxing out of respect for their or other people’s grey matter.

The respected Canberra orthopaedic surgeon who is a former national amateur boxing champ who turned pro may disagree, as would Tom Uren, respected former minister.

But uninformed stereotypes are much easier to collapse into when you have no idea aren’t they

Wow, two whole people that competed in boxing and weren’t a bit thick?

C’mon, surely you can admit that a large proportion of people that box aren’t exactly rocket surgeons?

As for the story, I can’t believe she’s going with the Shane Warne defence.

HenryBG said :

What a completely rubbish excuse from a professional athlete.

Then again – people don’t go into boxing out of respect for their or other people’s grey matter.

The respected Canberra orthopaedic surgeon who is a former national amateur boxing champ who turned pro may disagree, as would Tom Uren, respected former minister.

But uninformed stereotypes are much easier to collapse into when you have no idea aren’t they

Aboslutely NO sympathy for this girl. The resources and training given to all athletes at this level on anti-doping are first class. Blaming it on a friend is up there with Warnie and his mum. Pathetic….. and the CT’s article is just as pathetic – reporting it like she is the victim….

What a completely rubbish excuse from a professional athlete.

Then again – people don’t go into boxing out of respect for their or other people’s grey matter.

The flight stockings do a good job of preventing swollen feet/ankles, i question how effective the diuretic would be, as it’s non-selective about removing fluid. I smell a giant rat. She got sprung.

devils_advocate11:34 am 16 May 12

Ah the pain of making weight.

How I don’t miss thee. Not even a little bit.

Anyone who has experienced kankles knows it is truly a horrible affliction. Definitely worth risking an Olympic berth for.

Diuretics are also used to assist fighters to make weight, their primary purpose being to assist in dropping water weight. The fact they mask something else is, in combat sports with weight divisions, secondary but just as important.

What a bollocksy excuse. Want to prevent swollen ankles on flights? Wear flight socks and do some exercise/movement on the plane.

ps – there are processes that athletes can apply to take drugs that may contain ingredients on the list. If she wanted to take the diuretics – she should’ve and could’ve contacted ASADA before swallowing it.

sorry – having good friends who have been national level athletes, I have no sympathy for this girl. You do not put any pharmaceutical in your body without checking if every component in it is on the ASADA list. Whether it is performance enhancing or not, if its on the list you can’t take it – or at least know you could produce a positive result from it.

My friends would before getting any script from a doctor, explain they were athletes and they would bring up the ASADA list and check whether the product was on it or not.

For anyone trying out for national teams etc – Do not take anything – even cold tablets or nose sprays without checking if the ingredients are on the prohibited list.

As sad as that is for her, you must be thick as a brick if you are going to take medication from a friend and not check or seek advice from your coaching staff’s medical officer…Good Grief.

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