Bulgaria withdraws weightlifters from Olympics

[takeahnase]

Bulgaria withdraws weightlifters over doping | Reuters

By Anna Mudeva, Editing by Clare Fallon

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria withdrew its national weightlifting team
from the Beijing Olympics on Friday after 11 members of the team
failed dope tests, the national weightlifting federation said.

The weightlifters, who were hoping to compete for medals at the
August Games, were tested during a training camp in the Balkan
country on June 8-9, the federation said in a statement.

"The federation decided to withdraw the national weightlifting team --
men and women -- from the Olympics," it said.

Sports officials ordered drugs tests for all Bulgarian Olympic-bound
athletes after the weightlifting announcement and called for tougher
measures against anyone involved in doping.

The failed tests deal a blow to Bulgaria which has been on a mission
to clean up weightlifting's tarnished reputation after a series of
doping scandals and suspensions at previous Olympic Games.

The 11 weightlifters -- eight men and three women -- tested positive
for the banned anabolic substance methandienon, the federation said.

Among them were medal hopes Ivan Stoitsov, who took two gold medals
at last year's world championships, and Velichko Cholakov who won
bronze at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Injury had already ruled out another Bulgarian medal hope Milen
Dobrev, who won the 94-kg title at the Athens Olympics four years ago

"At the doorstep of the Beijing Games our hopes have been damaged,
the work has become meaningless and the tears that were to be shed in
front of the national flag are replaced by tears of helplessness,"
the federation said.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) declined to comment.

The Bulgarian State Sports and Youth Agency and the country's Olympic
committee announced there would be additional tests for all Bulgarian
athletes who had qualified for Beijing.

"It's better to have a smaller number of medals but clean and honest
than losing the trust of the sports community and suffer doping
scandals," the agency said in a statement.

It also ordered an investigation into the weightlifting case and said
it would propose legal changes to introduce tougher sanctions against
anyone involved in doping.

Bulgaria's reputation hit a low at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where
the team were stripped of three golds and sent home in shame
following positive drugs tests.

Weightlifting has been the sport worst affected by doping and almost
lost its status as an Olympic sport after five doping cases at the
1988 Games.

Only the former Soviet Union has won more medals than Bulgaria in
weightlifting's major championships.

The Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it would meet on Monday to
discuss the "doping scandal with the weightlifters."

The national federation's statement said the banned substance most
likely reached the weightlifters' bodies through "contaminated"
permitted recovery substances, such as proteins.

"Theoretically, taking it through food or ill intentions are not
ruled out," it said.

Earlier this month, the IWF gave two-year suspensions to 11 Greek
weightlifters who had tested positive for a banned substance in March.

This is fucking lame. I would not be surprised if weightlifting is thrown out of the olympics after all.

 

[big_john127]

Christ, that would blow!
These guys need to get a better doc handling their doping if nothing else.

 

[Sherpa]

Christ, that would blow!
These guys need to get a better doc handling their doping if nothing else.

Exactly. Mask that shit.

 

[takeahnase]

Another solution would be to actually stick to the fucking rules, irrespective of whether they are retarded or not.

 

[Chaos Mitten**]

I wonder if protein powder costs more when it's laced with d-bol.

 

[DrBdan]

The national federation's statement said the banned substance most
likely reached the weightlifters' bodies through "contaminated"
permitted recovery substances, such as proteins.

"Theoretically, taking it through food or ill intentions are not
ruled out," it said.

Apparently they are trying to use the Sean Sherk defence. Why not? It worked pretty well for him.

 

[Sherpa]

Another solution would be to actually stick to the fucking rules, irrespective of whether they are retarded or not.

Why bother when the vast majority of the athletes are doing it?

Bigger Faster Stronger was a great film. Go see it.

 

[big_john127]

While I would like to believe otherwise, I'm almost certain that the majority of top eschelon athletes are on 'roids, or blood dope, or use epo, or do anytihng they can do to get ahead.
I hate the situation, but am very realistic about it.

 

[takeahnase]

Why bother when the vast majority of the athletes are doing it? Bigger Faster Stronger was a great film. Go see it.

The majority of people lie and steal and are pretty useless alltogether - I don't base my behavior on their behavior.

 

[big_john127]

The majority of people lie and steal and are pretty useless alltogether - I don't base my behavior on their behavior.

I like the idea of a level playing field. One where everyone has the same advantages.

 

[Deleted member 130905]

That fucking blows.

 

[flak]

I like the idea of a level playing field. One where everyone has the same advantages.

Bingo. If the anti-whatever rules exist on paper, they need to exist in practice.

 

[takeahnase]

I like the idea of a level playing field. One where everyone has the same advantages.

I'm not trying to get into a discussion about whether or not drugs make sense. The level playing field argument can be used to make an argument against and for drugs.

My point is simply that
(i) we have a sport
(ii) this sport has certain rules
(iii) the point of rules is that you either stick to them or question them in the context of a sports political discussion, but the point of rules is not try to cheat yourself around them
(iv) breaking the rules in this particular case is putting the existence of a whole sport at jeopardy.

I much prefer laxer rules with respect to performance enhancing drugs, but as a matter of fact we don't have these rules and this will certainly not change in the coming years.

 

[Chaos Mitten**]

I feel sorry for the Bulgarians. They are too poor to afford the good stuff: genetic doping to create myostatin deficiency.

 

[takeahnase]

LMAO.

"I am shocked," Stoitsov told state news agency BTA. "I think all this is a provocation. If I get punished, I'll quit training and do something else."

It's an American set-up, tired of their athletes placing nowhere in weightligfting.

 

[Chaos Mitten**]

LMAO.



It's an American set-up, tired of their athletes placing nowhere in weightligfting.

America, fuck yeah!

 

[Orion]

Ha, Stoitsov is awesome and all, but being "shocked" about an eastern bloc country testing positive for steroids is comedy in it's purest form.

 

[CEF]

<snip>
I much prefer laxer rules with respect to performance enhancing drugs, but as a matter of fact we don't have these rules and this will certainly not change in the coming years.

I completely agree but the fact is and has been for the past 50+ years its been our doped up athletes vs their doped up athletes because without the anabolics you will not win at the Olympic level. This is also not going to change anytime soon until people start accepting the inconvenient truth... hence why I feel its lame for Bulgaria to withdraw.

 

[takeahnase]

What option would they have had besides withdrawing?

 

[Chaos Mitten**]

What option would they have had besides withdrawing?

Bury the test results and decide that the use of anabolics was "inadvertant." Like Carl Lewis. Duh.