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Comments by: YACCS

 
The Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled on Kyoko Ina's case, handing the least severe penalty of a four year suspension with no additional fine. FoxSports provides quite a different picture of the Ina incident, making her appear more the inconvenienced athlete. I'm still a bit confused about the boyfriend issue, since reports provide conflicting testimony.

Ina, who has paired with John Zimmerman to win the last three U.S. Championships, refused a urine test at her home at 10:30 p.m. after stating in a fax to the agency that she would be home from dinner at that time.

The CAS panel concluded that Ina did not make herself available during the day and that her fax was "an invitation to test at this hour of the night given her personal schedule."

Ina also chose to sign an athlete refusal form, which is an admittance to violating USADA protocol and a subjection to sanctions. Her boyfriend, who also was present, warned her of the possible media implications.

In her argument, Ina alleged a number of "procedural infirmities" justified her refusal. She said the doping control officer had an expired sticker on her credential and the USADA after-hours call-forwarding service malfunctioned that day.

The CAS concluded that the doctor's credential had an expired sticker because she had moved and had not received the proper replacement and that Ina only called the service to reschedule the no-advance test "because it was inconvenient."

In addition, the USADA website has the full ruling on the Ina case, including the dissenting opinion. The vote was 2-1.

I was thinking about this last night. Elena Berezhnaya failed a drug test at an actual competition because she had taken a cold medication. She was given a three month suspension. Explain to me how Ina gets four years for "refusing" a test.

Obviously Ina & Zimmerman will be turning professional now. They'll probably spend the next four years touring in ice shows, never competing again unless someone brings back the pro circuit successfully. A real shame for everyone involved.


posted by Julia at 10:30 PM

 

U.S. Anti Doping Agency has "caught" another athlete in their spiderweb of regulations. Pairs champion Kyoko Ina faces a potential lifetime ban and a $1 million dollar fine for "refusing" to take an unannounced drug test. Ina has posted a statement on her official website, including her account of what happened. pointing out that as a three time Olympian and world team member for the last 8 years, she has passed numerous drug tests. She cooperated to the best of her ability with the request. She simply couldn't produce a urine sample on request. She had asked for an extension, signed paperwork asking for the delay, but instead was slapped with a refusal to take the test.

According to Ina's account, Donna Koch, USADA representative, showed up unannounced at her home at 10:30pm at night on July 18th. At 11:15pm when it was clear Ina wasn't able to produce a usable urine sample, Ina asked for Koch to perform the test the next day at the Ice House in Hackensack where she trains with John Zimmerman. They attempted to call USADA's 24 hour hotline to determine the procedure, but there was no answer. They had arranged for Koch to show at the Ice House. She wrote a note on the USADA form asking for the delay, but Koch said she couldn't return with Ina's signature. Ina signed and that was used as her refusal to comply.

In the AP wire report, Ina is quoted, "They never showed at the Ice House during normal hours. But they decided to show up at 10:30 at night at my house. When I asked the USADA representative how often they come to someone's house at such hours, the answer was never." Adding to the intrigue, Koch's USADA credentials had expired. Koch had also reportedly brought along an "uncredentialed chaperone", referred to Ina as her "boyfriend".

The American Arbitration Association has already rejected Ina's appeal of the ruling. That ruling could lead to an ISU suspension between 4 years to life. (That sentence would ironically be longer than the one currently being carried out by both Le Gougne & Gaillghauet. Four years is presumably to suspend them from at least one Olympics.) Ina says she will take the case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport. USADA and USFSA aren't commenting until the appeal is through, but USADA CEO Terry Madden said the sanction is "appropriate" given the facts. So either we're not hearing all the facts or someone is conveniently ignoring the ones that should matter.

The USFSA site provides introductory information on the USADA program and how the anti-doping regulations affect their skaters. The fascinating document explains the procedures for filing quarterly location information with the agency so they can find the athlete for a test. These locations include an athlete's home address and any training sites. Anytime the athlete's schedule changes from that listed on the form, the athletes have to contact them with the changes.

The information includes warnings on potential positive triggers like medication or nutritional supplements. I was aware that certain asthma medications were on the banned list; Tonya Harding used an inhaler to control her asthma because of those rules. Elena Berzhnaya received a suspension for testing positive for a cold medication. I hadn't realized that insulin was also considered a "banned substance". If something is essential for someone to survive, how is that performance enhancing? How do insulin-dependent Olympic athletes manage? Apparently they have to have a separate form clearing them to take the drugs from their doctor. Having done a quick search online, I obviously underestimated the uses of insulin. Some athletes use insulin along with growth hormones to promote muscle growth. This all makes you wonder if athletes can take anything!

This whole case is quite saddening. I've followed Kyoko Ina's career since she made the Olympic team in 1994 with her former partner Jason Dunjen. Only last year did I become a fan of Ina & Zimmerman when they had their best season to date. If this ban is upheld, her competitive skating career is gone. Ina and Zimmerman can turn pro, but the only competitions currently on board are ISU pro-am competitions. With the demise of Dick Button's World Professional Championships, Ice Wars ironically is the only all-pro competition left. Started as a made-for-tv competition after the Tonya-Nancy scandal, Ice Wars is limited to singles competitors. So Ina would theoretically be limited to touring or skating in exhibitions.

Add to the mix was Ina's continuing shoulder problems. She had dislocated the shoulder last year, skating with the pain throughout the Olympic season. She reinjured it and finally elected to have the surgery last month. When I originally saw something on her, I thought "Uh-oh, she won't be able to skate at all..." Not this.

This is another case of the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. The letter requires the athlete to be ready to take the drug whenever and wherever the USADA says. The letter of the law places all the burden on the athlete to comply with the testing under duress with no allowances at all. And to the best of her ability, Kyoko Ina complied. But the spirit of the law should remember that these athletes are human beings.


posted by Julia at 4:58 PM

 

Sarah Hughes won the individual “Sportswoman of the Year” achievement award given by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Sue Bird, NCAA basketball star, won the team “Sportswoman of the Year” achievement award for leading the University of Connecticut Huskies to an unbeaten season and a national title. Jayne Torvill, 1984 Olympic gold medallist in ice dancing with Christopher Dean for Great Britain, was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.



posted by Julia at 11:49 AM