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Yuliya Efimova Back In; FINA Under Fire For Lack Of Clarity; Mutko Praises WADA
- Updated: May 21, 2016
FINA, the international governing body, is coming under fire over its lack of clarity in the case of Yuliya Efimova, the once-banned-for-a-steroid but twice-shy-of-a-full-ban swimmer who’s provisional suspension has been lifted pending a hearing.
The news that FINA has lifted the temporary ban on Efimova over a positive case of meldonium, is accompanied by a statement from the Russian government praising the World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to persuade FINA to lift the ban.
Given the high level of positive tests for meldonium among Russian athletes leaning on the Latvia-produced substance that was banned from January 1 this year, WADA is conducting research into how long meldonium stays in the body after consumption.
FINA out-of-competition testers called on Efimova in January but that test did not lead to an adverse finding being declared. It remains to be seen whether the January sample is relevant to the case; whether it was stored for retesting. Russian claims that meldonium cannot be tested in blood only urine have been described as “pure nonsense” by leading medical sources.
The news of the ban being lifted comes just over a week after the international swimming federation announced that it would not do so until a hearing was held. However, the news came from Russian news sources citing Efimova’s agent: there has been no statement from FINA itself.
On the last weekend of the European Championships in London from which Efimova was barred by FINA’s decision last week, criticism and skepticism is high on the agenda in a sport that has grown tired of watching minor athletes slapped with four-year suspensions (the examples many and stretching to inconsistency of treatment in the aquatic group of sports) while the like of Efimova and Sun Yang are treated to leniency and let-off with penalties that have allowed them to return to waters tainted by their presence.
Senior Sweden coach and former Russia head coach Dr. Andrei Vorontsov said:
“I am not in favour. It’s a bad signal. I talked to swimmers and coaches before it happened and they told me they would be very angry and now it has happened and they are angry. It should be a lesson for those who want to find a short cut. I think she should be still out until it’s decided.”
The contrast between politicians and the community of athletes and coaches such as those gathered in London this week is stark. Take this to TASS, the Russian news agency, from Vitaly Mutko, a Russian Sports Minister supposedly putting his house in order so …
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