A major dust-up occurred in Europe the past few days. Seems the Spanish Olympic women's (field) hockey team came down with a semi-massive case of air-conditioning-induced steroid fever.
The Spanish team careened to wins at Azerbaijan, thus qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. However, those clever Azerbaijanians covertly infected the Spanish hockey players via the aerosol route apparently spewing anabolic steroids into the hotel rooms too. How dastardly: if declared ineligible Spain stays home while Azerbaijan goes to Beijing. (from The Herald)
The Spanish women's hockey team face Olympic exclusion after two players failed drug tests, their national federation said yesterday.
Spain qualified for Beijing with a 3-2 away victory over Azerbaijan last month, but two players subsequently tested positive for drugs. The federation claims foul play. "Our players are totally innocent," said technical secretary Jose Antonio Gil. "We are looking into whether the players were intoxicated or if there was a manipulation of the samples."
If more than one member of a team tests positive, the team is disqualified from the tournament. So Azerbaijan would replace Spain in Beijing if results are upheld.
Players complained to the Spanish federation on returning from Azerbaijan. They fell ill three days prior to the match and believe they were contaminated through the air conditioning system. The federation is examining these claims. "What we need is information to know what happened, whether they were spiked or if the tests were false," said Gil.
The International Herald-Tribune continues with the story:
"We will fight this to the end," Gil said. "What happened in Azerbaijan is a very rare thing, for all of us. There has never been such a positive test in hockey and I'm sure the International Hockey Federation is as concerned about this as us."
The federation learned of the positive tests 10 days ago but wouldn't release the names of the two players or say which banned substances were involved.
The International Hockey Federation, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, said in a statement:
"The athletes and the RFEH (Spanish federation) requested the "B" samples to be analyzed, which will take place in the next couple of weeks."
The FIH will not reveal any further details...
Steroids by aerosol. Interesting concept. Wholly unproven though. Perhaps the findings will be reversed on 'B' testing? Or maybe the team needs another excuse, like contaminated birth control pills?
Gil said the federation was examining that theory (air conditioning), as well as whether the players' food or drink had been tampered with.
"Right now what we need is information to know what happened, whether they were spiked or if the tests were false," he said.
Not that Spanish athletes would ever attempt to pull one over on doping officials:
There's a history of invention. David Martinez, the Spanish discus thrower, claimed con-taminated pork caused his positive test and tried to prove it. He kept a pig and included steroids in its diet, as some unscrupulous farmers do. Senor Martinez eventually slaughtered the animal . . . but, after a gammon feast, his urine was negative. Martinez had a two-year ban upheld but the pig by then was serving a terminal life ban.
Johann Muelhegg, a German skier who switched to Spain, was banned for drug use. He had used a cleaning lady-turned clairvoyant to prepare for races, and claimed a coach had put a curse on his drinks.
Some of the Spanish disabled basketball team had no intellectual disability at all. Not only was the team stripped of gold from Sydney 2000, but all learning disability sport was excluded from the Paralympics.
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