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  • Had a really heated debate about this the other day with a "why don't they just let them take all the drugs" view holder.

    My reasoning is that whether there is or is not a benefit from taking it, it's legal if you follow the correct protocol, and if there is a tiny gain to be had even though it might be unethical, then as an athlete they should take it, it's not their responsibility to make the rules. When it's legal if you follow protocol - a line in the sand is drawn. In Yates' case, he tripped over the line and crossed it, but still crossed it (I may have run with that metaphor a bit too much)

    In the same way that most athletes who took Meldonium probably didn't have a heart condition, most athletes that take asthma drugs probably don't have asthma. The problem is that asthma is very much on a continuum and putting a line along that, where some are asthmatic and some aren't, is extremely hard. In the case of Yates it seems he genuinely does have asthma; if Owain Doull is a reputable source:
    https://twitter.com/owaindoull/status/725973890221137920

    (how on earth do I embed tweets on here btw?)

  • (how on earth do I embed tweets on here btw?

    copy & paste? :)

  • Except if the team are telling the truth, Yates didn't cross the line, the doctor put it on his paperwork for the race, so announced to the authorities he was taking the flipping stuff, but forgot the TUE. Pretty moronic if true.

  • Meldonium

    That's going to blow over as WADA are now having to take advice/research how long it stays in the body. The current suggestion is that those who were on it for a long time (prescribed like Shriekapova) will continue to test positive for it for up to two years after they last took it.

    So they can all then claim "I stopped taking it when WADA added it to its banned list (1st Jan 2016) so I've done nothing wrong."

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