There is an article of 16 February in the Brisbane Times, to the effect that AA, in concert with SIA, was instrumental in the public release.
Bol’s lawyer has called for the AA CEO to stand down
Based on the article, an inquiry is coming.
Bol’s lawyer is doing a good job. Maybe he could take on the AFL for its shabby behaviour in doping cases.
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'Four Norwegian scientists, all professors of biochemistry and molecular biology, who are experts in this area of drug testing contacted this masthead after Bol’s positive test and warned that the method of testing for EPO was notoriously unreliable as it relied upon the subjective view of the scientist looking at the test results.
They had previously urged WADA to reassess how EPO is tested, and this case has only heightened those concerns.’
Pfft what would those scientist’s know, someone needs to tell them those WADA ■■■■■■ know best.
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World XC in Bathurst this arvo was an easy African domination.
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Commonwealth Games medallist busted
But A+++++ for the excuse
Zane Robertson - NZ runner spent all his life after finished school in Kenya.
was it worth it…
Im interested in hearing his side of the story.
EPO rife in kenya, maybe he shouldnt have mentioned to the doctor that he was a marathon runner 
Dean Wallis record keeping in africa now.
It’s worth noting that prior to the 2016 Olympics where Zane Robertson was 12th in the 10,000, Zane, who had relocated to Ethiopia, expressed his frustration as to the amount of doping in the sport and specifically the situation that was going on in Kenya.
Transgender women will no longer be allowed to compete in female track and field events regardless of their levels of testosterone, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Friday.
Speaking after a meeting of the global track and field federation’s decision-making body, Coe sad: “The Council has agreed to exclude male or female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female world ranking competitions from March the 31st this year.”
Coe said World Athletics had consulted with stakeholders including the International Olympic Committee and national federations about the issue of transgender athletes.
“The majority of those consulted stated that transgender athletes should not be competing in the female category,” he said.
“Many believe there is insufficient evidence that trans women do not retain advantage over biological women and want more evidence that any physical advantages have been ameliorated before they are willing to consider an option for inclusion into the female category.”
He added: “The judgement we took … was, I believe, in the best interests of our sport.
“We’re not saying ‘no’ forever,” he said, adding that a working group headed by a transgender person would be created to further monitor scientific developments.
The decision has divided opinion.
Fair Play For Women, a UK-based body which says its aim is to “defend the sex-based rights of women and girls”, welcomed the move.
“This is a reversal of their unfair testosterone suppression policy and makes good on Coe’s commitment to protect female sport,” it tweeted.
But LGBTQ+ rights organisation Stonewall labelled it “disappointing”.
“It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events,” Stonewall tweeted.
“Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban.”
Coe conceded the decision was difficult.
“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations,” he said.
“We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.”
World Athletics’ stance is similar to the position swimming’s world governing body FINA took earlier this year.
Swimming also restricted the participation of male-to-female transgender athletes, ruling they must have completed their transition before the age of 12 to be able to compete at the highest levels.
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Robertson said financial pressure living in New Zealand and a “nasty” divorce was also a factor.
“I made some bad decisions in a really dark place.”
As to why he chose EPO, which was synonymous with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France, Robertson said: “We have it naturally in the body and when you add it synthetically it helps the red blood cells to develop more in the body, and that produces more oxygen that can be pushed around the body so you can run faster for longer without feeling it.”
Robertson insisted he only took it once, and he felt like he could “move and train in great shape”, when clearly he wasn’t in great shape. He said it helped recovery and enabled him to train harder for longer.
Asked by Harvey why people should believe the two-time Olympian when he said he only took EPO once, Robertson claimed he’d been tested 50 times before and after races in which he’d done well, and there had been no problems with his samples until the Manchester race.
Of the cover-up, Robertson told Runners Only: “I want to take full blame for that. That was my idea. To me four years is the same as eight [his doubled suspension for the cover-up]. It’s the end of my career, there’s no coming back from this.
“… I want people to think deeply, if that was them, if they had invested 16 years into trying to be a professional and they were going to lose their career because of one f… up then I guess a lot of people would try and save their ■■■■.”
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As to the puberty rule, as I understand it there are minimum ages for transitioning, which may not match the age of puberty for individuals.
And the age for rights to undertake treatment to transition will vary by country. Some requiring parental consent at just about any age.
Costs for transition treatment are not cheap.
ADD As noted by Tracey Holmes, the puberty rule also pushes down the age for decisions to transition, when public health on transitioning favours decisions at a later age.
In Australia the average age for male puberty ranges from 11 to 13 years.
Robertson is the ultimate hypocrite. He has spoken out against doping several times. Even his confession tries to blame others. I do feel sorry for his twin brother who has lost sponsorship and copped a lot of hate because his brother is a cheat.
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so after listening to podcast
x wife (sick of him whibgeing about PEDs brought some EPO home and left it there). and he didn’t touch it then after olympic failure he did.
only with wife for 1 year.
race he used it for he caught covid and DNF.
says other NZ records are legit.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm so maybe it turns out the sport cops might be infallible after all?
Also ABC and SMH.
Wonder what the integrity people at the international athletics federation think of this. Howman ex WADA, was involved in the Wood Review of integrity in sport. Clothier ex AFL integrity.
“People cannot be convicted under the World Anti-Doping system or any system on just shadows and whispers”
Ahem…
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I was about to post that frosty…
strands in a cable.
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What a farking boring, overly sanitized country we’re becoming.
Paris Olympic Games 2024: Australian athletes kicked out to avoid boozy parties in bombshell ruling
Aussie athletes will be kicked out of the Olympic village within hours of their events ending in a shock announcement from the AOC that goes against the motto of ‘everyone sticking together’.
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6 min read
April 15, 2023 - 6:00AM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom0 comments
So much for the new Olympic motto of everyone sticking together.
Adopted just before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when the world was in the grips of the global pandemic, the word ‘together’ was added to the official Olympic slogan of ‘faster – higher – stronger.”
It was a cute gesture to reassure everyone that everyone was dealing with the same problem and the biggest sporting festival on the planet would be the beacon of hope that things would eventually return to normal.
But not everyone got the memo.
In a baffling decision that will delight the woke mob and alarm everyone who thinks Australia is fast becoming a nanny state, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is banning team members from staying in the Paris village once their events are over.
The AOC says there’s evidence to prove it’ll benefit the health and performances of the entire team because they won’t be distracted by any party goers but critics say it’s a heavy-handed approach that robs athletes of one of the best experiences of their lives.
“I think it‘s a real shame because for most people this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Australian Olympic swimming legend Giann Rooney said. “It diminishes the Olympic experience.
T\Australian athletes will be banned from staying to support their peers
“Because alcohol is banned in the village any parties all take place outside the village but there’s already plenty of noise and distraction because people are coming and going all the time.
“But that’s all part of the Olympics experience and it actually inspiring to see people walk around the village who have won medals. It gives everyone a lift.
“I‘m incredibly proud to be an Olympian and incredibly proud to say I swam at two Olympics, but a lot of the best memories I have are of getting dressed up and going and supporting my teammates.”
For the vast majority of Olympians who don’t win medals, those priceless few days of freedom inside the village represent a once-in-a-lifetime reward for all the blood, sweat and tears they have shed for their sport.
It’s the time when they get to let their hair down after years of hard training and rub shoulders with other elite competitors from around the world while cheering on their Aussie teammates still in competition.
The strict biosecurity measures that were used in Tokyo have been lifted for Paris but the AOC has now implemented its own regulations, effectively booting Aussie competitors out of the village after their last event.
“It‘s purely a performance based decision,” AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said.
“The learnings from Tokyo were absolutely positive that for the athletes who are competing in the second week, reducing the load on the village by athletes who have finished was positive for both their preparation and their health.
“We want all the athletes to be able to perform at their best, whether they have a medal chance or not, so it doesn‘t matter what sport you’re in.”
WHAT THE RULES MEAN
Under the new deal, Australian athletes will have to vacate the village within 48 hours of their events finishing, with some leniency for an extra 24 hours if they have a lot of equipment like sail boats.
They can choose to remain in Europe and attend the closing ceremony on August 11, but will have to pay their own costs for the period in between.
For some athletes, such as the men’s Rugby Sevens team whose competition ends the day after the opening ceremony, that could mean an eye-watering two-week bill, with three-star hotel rooms in the French capital starting around $600 a night.
“The athletes could take a holiday,” Carroll said. “They‘re free to do that.
“I’ve spoken to a few of the athletes and everyone understands it.”
“This is about performance. It’s not for the wowsers, we’re actually doing it for the athletes who are still competing.”
If athletes want to march in the closing ceremony it could cost them close to $10k to stay in Paris
AUSSIES LOVE TO CELEBRATE
Olympians are renowned for their wild celebrations, with Australians never far from the action.
Living legend Dawn Fraser was famously arrested at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for her part in pinching a flag from the Japanese emperor’s palace.
At Rio in 2016, swim star Emma McKeon was initially banned from attending the closing ceremony for breaking the team’s strict curfew after a late night out with friends in Copacabana.
She was later allowed to march after the public called for officials to get off their high horses.
More recently, members of the men’s rugby and soccer teams were investigated following complaints they were intoxicated on the flight home.
Anticipating the biggest coming out party that sport has ever witnessed, Paris organisers are already planning to distribute up to half a million condoms and packets of lubricants to athletes inside the village.
The AOC insists it is a performance incentive but it will deny many the real Olympic experience
However, the boozy late-night parties will all take place outside the village, because strict rules already apply, banning music and anything that might disturb athletes still competing.
That doesn’t mean everyone follows the rules so each country makes its own decision about whether athletes can stay in the village after their events.
A lot of countries let them, but some of the bigger teams, including the United States, vacate rooms to free up beds for athletes competing in the second week.
The Australian Paralympic team has decided that all its team members will be permitted to remain in the village so they can all travel back to Australia together on a charter flight.
Before making its decision to split its team, the AOC board first sought the approval of the Athletes’ Commission, which includes some current Olympians who could be directly affected by the rule change.
Has the AOC made the right decision or does it go too far?
Yes it’s the right call
No it’s ridiculous
Cast your vote
Ken Wallace, who competed at three Olympics and won gold in canoeing at Beijing in 2008, is the deputy chair of the Athletes’ Commission.
He said it was a difficult decision to make but the majority of competitors will support it.
“The athletes’ voice was definitely heard,” he said.
“I agree that being in the Olympic Village is a part of the whole Olympic Games experience but I don‘t agree that it should outweigh performance.
“We all love a good larrikin, but we also want to be a respectful team.
“So while they may be kicked out of the village, they‘re not being kicked out of Paris or being kicked out of the Olympic environment.
“They can still go see other events and still be a part of that Olympic experience but we want to give every athlete that performance outcome and opportunity to compete at their very best without having any distractions around them.”
AUSTRALIA GETS GOLD FOR STUPID DECISIONS
In a world gone mad, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) deserves a gold medal for loony decision making.
Despite the best intentions, the AOC’s plan to boot Australian competitors out of the Olympic village in Paris next year fails the pub test.
Australians love winners but the Olympics have always been about more than just medal tables or results.
It’s the characters that stay in the memory forever because the Olympics are the one global event where Eric the Eel, the Jamaican bobsleigh team and Steven Bradbury get to share the spotlight with Serena Williams, Michael Jordan and Lionel Messi.
The Olympics are part of Australia’s DNA and the AOC has always known that, but the stunning success of the Australian team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics has blurred the lines.
Because the team performed so well and helped unite the country during the misery of lockdown, the AOC, understandably, hopes to replicate that in Paris, but they are looking at it the wrong way.
Michael Klim of Australia plays the air guitar after breaking the Men’s 4x100 Freestyle Relay World Record
The draconian rules that were used in Tokyo should be the exception, never the blueprint for the future.
If the AOC wants a model that works, they should use the template from Sydney 2000.
Not only did the Australian team collect a record 58 medals in Sydney - 12 more than in Tokyo - but they made people fall in love with the Olympics again by abandoning all the prudish rules that were killing the Games.
Instead of pomp and ceremony, Sydney’s Olympics were a 17 day celebration of decadence.
The wowsers and spoilsports were banished from sight so all Australians could let their hair down and poke fun at themselves while the world lapped it up.
These were the same Games where Australia’s swimmers played air guitars on the podium after beating the Americans and HG and Roy’s “fat-arsed wombat” became an unofficial mascot.
It was a raunchy party from start to finish but it didn’t detract from the performances of the Australian team or the carnival atmosphere.
If anything the Aussie team thrived by embracing the full Olympic experience and the current generation should be given that chance as well.
It is Paris after all. Ooh la la!
These people don’t think the athletes are just going to go run amok on their own?
Reckon the headlines (presume that’s what they’re worried about) will be worse if they’re allowed to run free through Paris in front of everyone than in the Olympic village.
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ANNOUNCE THE ATHLETES WONT LIKE
THIS CALL ONE BIT
Announce AOC are (Shock! Horror!) dkheads…
BRING … IT … ON
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Yep, bring it on.
I don’t care if they are juiced up, I just want to see the strongest and fastest athletes on the planet
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