Foreign media about the removal of the Russian Olympic team. Dima Bilan, singer

An unexpected recognition was made by the American tennis player Serena Williams, the ex-first racket of the planet. The athlete did not hide that in 2015 during one of the most prestigious tournaments on the planet - Roland Garros -. Williams Jr. did this with absolutely impunity, as she had the so-called therapeutic exception in her hands, which gave her the right to use this drug due to her health condition. Serena said that right before the start of the competition she became very ill and therefore had to take the appropriate medicine.

“I have never had a positive doping test. I have always had therapeutic exceptions, you can check the facts. I would not have performed at Roland Garros if I had not received permission to use the drugs, because, as you remember, I was incredibly sick that year, ”Williams is quoted by ESPN.

Despite being "severely ill", Serena won the tournament. In the final, the representative of the United States in three sets broke the resistance of the Czech Lucia Safarova with a score of 6:3, 6:7, 6:2. Recalling that victory, the tennis player admitted that she would be ashamed to admit to her daughter that she was doping.

“I have a child, and I could never look her in the eyes and say: “Mom cheated.” It would be irresponsible. I have always had this attitude towards the issue of doping, ”added Williams.

“I was disappointed when I found out that my medical data was compromised by hackers”

The system of therapeutic exceptions in sport became widely known in September 2016, when the hacker group Fancy Bears released the first part of documents from the hacked database of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It turned out that a number of American athletes used doping for medical reasons. Among them was Williams Jr. The hackers found out that in 2010, 2014 and 2015 she took illegal drugs such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, prednisone, prednisolone and methylprednisolone.

She did not stay away older sister Venus, quadruple Olympic champion, who used in 2010-2013 a whole bunch of substances equated in sports with doping - prednisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone and formoterol.

The American Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) then explained that all athletes whose names were mentioned by hackers received special therapeutic exceptions.

“Athletes did everything right in accordance with the rules for obtaining therapeutic exceptions. All permits have been received and approved by the IOC and USADA. This is vile and cowardly cyberbullying against innocent athletes. The time has come for the global community to unite against cyberattacks on clean sport and the rights of athletes, ”the official website of the organization quotes the head of USADA, Travis Tygart.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in turn, emphasized that the Williams sisters did not use illegal drugs during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and did not pass positive doping tests. In Brazil, Venus won silver in the mixed doubles. Williams Sr. said she always "followed the rules".

“I was very disappointed when I found out that my medical data was compromised by hackers and put on public display without permission. I have always followed the rules set by the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, including in the process of applying for and obtaining therapeutic exemptions. In all cases reported by the hackers, I had the legal right to use illegal drugs, ”the tennis player emphasized.

“It would be unpleasant to be in the place of Sharapova”

At the same time, Serena Williams actively commented on the disqualification of Maria Sharapova in 2016 for the use of meldonium.

“I think it would be very unpleasant for me if I were in the place of Sharapova. I will never take something, as it can adversely affect my health, ”the American athlete ESPN quotes.

After the Russian woman returned to the court, Williams Jr.'s coach Patrick Muratoglu spoke very harshly about her. In particular, last year he criticized the organizers of the US Open (US Open) for the decision to give Sharapova a wild card.

“A moratorium on the wild card for tennis players who have served a suspension for doping, even if it is a superstar, would be a great message to the fans. I don't think the wild card for Sharapova sends the right message. There is no need to help players who have lost their rating due to a positive doping test. Don't help them get back to the top faster. I understand that the presence of Sharapova in the grid is the dream of any organizer. Full house at the stadium, satisfied sponsors, TV ratings. But let her return to the top 100 herself and earn a place in the main draw, ”the NY Post quotes Muratoglu.

Amphetamine for the American basketball player and Norwegian "asthmatics"

However, the Williams sisters, as already mentioned, are far from the only American athletes who have legally used doping. So, for example, under suspicion was the five-time Olympic champion in 2016, gymnast Simone Biles. It turned out that in Rio de Janeiro she passed a positive doping test for a serious psychostimulant - methylphenidate. However, there was no punishment for the athlete, since she had official permission from WADA to use this drug. Doctors of the American team have achieved a TUE for Biles, citing the fact that she allegedly suffers from "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder." Simone herself declared that she had "nothing to be ashamed of".

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American basketball player Elena Delle Donn was not ashamed either, who, according to Fancy Bears, passed a positive doping test for the drug amphetamine at the same Olympics in Brazil, and in addition, used another illegal drug, hydrocortisone. Of course, all this with the sanction of WADA officials who issued the TUE to the athlete.

The system of therapeutic exceptions is widespread not only in the United States, but also in Norway. Scandinavian skiers regularly use illegal anti-asthma drugs to make breathing easier. Before the Olympics in Pyeongchang, the public was amazed that the members of the Norwegian team brought to the Games. The National Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Norwegians had stockpiled 6,000 doses of special drugs considered serious doping in sports, including 1,800 doses of Symbicort, 1,200 doses of Alvesco, Airomira (salbutamol), Atrovent and 360 doses of Ventolin. ". Norwegian "asthmatics" received a TUE for the use of these drugs, which significantly help to relieve breathing, for example during a cross-country skiing.

True, later in the Norwegian media there was information that only 1% of the total number of drugs brought to South Korea was used by athletes.

leading American athletes, including Venus Williams and Simone Biles, not only gave rise to a new round of discussion of modern anti-doping rules, but once again called into question the objectivity of the employees of the main anti-doping organization WADA. An inherently ordinary situation each time leads to a difficult discussion about the status of a professional athlete and about the future of big sport in general, and only an expert can separate facts from speculation. Why the scandal that has arisen has no grounds and how big sport the situation with various medications, explains endocrinologist Nikita Taller in detail.

The excitement in the domestic media regarding the published documents is quite understandable: less than a month has passed since the end of the Olympic Games, in which almost a third of the representatives of Russia did not participate - for various reasons, but one way or another related to suspicions of using illegal substances. And then documents with “steroids”, “opiates” and “amphetamines” legalized for Russia’s main competitors pop up - and under the publications a string of comments about the “Williams brothers”, “anabolic athletes”, old memes about Americans and lengthy statements about diagnoses from official representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Formally, the situation is extremely simple: when an athlete has chronic illness, requiring the appropriate course or life-long treatment, or gets injured, or is preparing for surgery, or corny "colds" during the next flight between competitions, he is examined by a certified specialist and issues a conclusion on the need for treatment. Data on a special system is sent to WADA for the issuance of the so-called TUE - a therapeutic exception. Thus, a prohibited drug becomes temporarily permitted for medical reasons - its further detection in a doping test is compared with data on the course of treatment and its duration, which excludes the possibility of uncontrolled intake outside the previously agreed course.

The easiest way to explain this is by the example of the Williams sisters. They have been performing in one of the most traumatic sports for more than twenty years, while now Serena is 34 years old, and Venus is 36, which is considered a “critical” age for modern tennis (in the 90s, tennis players hardly reached 30). Without the periodic use of painkillers (in this case, rather strong semi-synthetic opioids) and anti-inflammatory drugs (glucocorticosteroids), they cannot continue to perform. In addition, Venus has Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease with a primary lesion of the external secretion glands, often combined with even more serious disorders of the immune system. Due to this illness, Williams did not perform for some time.

Sjögren's syndrome requires the use of glucocorticosteroids. Although these are steroids, unlike the notorious “anabolics”, they have an inverse catabolic effect, that is, with prolonged use they help to reduce muscle mass, development muscle weakness and increased risk of fractures. It certainly doesn't improve. sports achivments. There are clandestine schemes among visitors to specialized training sections with a combination of "anabolics" and "catabolics", but it is impossible to pass such a scheme through doping tests and remain "clean" after that.

Interestingly, glucocorticoids, in particular prednisolone, have been used during tournaments - for example, at Open Championship France in 2015, which ended with the victory of Serena Williams, despite an earlier injury. Can this be considered a scam? Probably not: the drugs used do not improve physical indicators and mitigate the effects of injury. The organizers of the tournament are extremely interested in the participation of the most popular athletes in the later stages and, of course, in the final.

Premature ending of a match due to an injury or refusal to participate are reputational and financial problems, and for Serena herself, a delay in the opportunity to set another record (in this case, in terms of the number of victories in Grand Slam tournaments). So TUE is a legalized renewal method sports life top players. We want to see Lionel Messi, LeBron James or Serena Williams on the courts as often as possible, and medical services are meeting the needs of the consumer. This, probably, justifies the choice of more serious painkillers, which are not available in our country even for palliative therapy of cancer patients, but are available in other regions.


Therapeutic exclusion is quite a common situation. Andrey Sereda, director of the FMBA sports medicine center, confirmed that at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, “for one reason or another, four athletes were issued permits for therapeutic use” and “no obstacles, nit-picking from the services that consider these documents” he didn't see. “Yesterday, one of the athletes of our team in one of the hospitals required the appointment of illegal drugs - similar, by the way, to those used by the Williams sisters. We drew up the documents at night, sent them for consideration today, and I am 120% sure that we will get permission for this TUE, because we substantiated it with an extract from the hospital, the conclusion of a doctor who, according to urgent indications, introduced this drug, ”quotes words of the specialist "R-Sport". Moreover, according to statistics, it is glucocorticosteroids, diuretics (diuretics) and selective β2-agonists (inhaled drugs for the treatment bronchial asthma) are the most commonly prescribed TUE drugs.

The situation with Simone Biles is more complex and controversial. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD) began to be actively studied not so long ago, although, according to some experts, this is a fairly common phenomenon among children (it is observed in 3-7%). Relatively speaking, if you had a violent, impulsive and restless desk mate, a loser and a bully, then perhaps this is not a defect in education at all, but the same ADHD. In Russia, such a diagnosis is made infrequently, but in the USA it is quite an ordinary practice.

Psychotropic drugs are prescribed, including methylphenidate and amephtamines - there are a lot of methods that have already been tested or are at the research stage. The application is based on the fact that in attention deficit disorder there are functional disorders of the work of neurotransmitters (for example, dopamine and norepinephrine) in certain parts of the brain, in particular in the prefrontal cortex. These are purely functional, not anatomical disorders: in other words, the wrong substances are produced in the connections between brain cells, in the wrong quantities and in the wrong place. The use of psychostimulants contributes to an increase in neurotransmitter activity in these particular brain systems.

It is important to understand that the effect of these drugs in a healthy person and a patient with ADHD will be different. Does it give an advantage to a professional athlete? Probably yes, especially in those sports where the balance of normal arousal, which gives physical and psychological vigor, and inhibitory processes, which limit excessive activity and increase endurance, motivation and vigilance, is important. In addition, they temporarily improve memory, including “muscle memory”.

All this helps in sports that require constant concentration and exact repetition of previously repeatedly worked out elements, and gymnastics definitely one of those. Amphetamines also have a fat-burning effect, which can also be important for gymnasts. As a result, we get a contradiction: Biles's patient has every right to receive such therapy, but Simone probably would not have such stability of performances without concomitant therapy, because ADHD itself would provoke haste and redundancy of movements. Recall that the same diagnosis was made in childhood to the great swimmer Michael Phelps.

We come to the most difficult question in professional sports: whether an athlete with certain defects and developmental disabilities, fully or partially solved by treatment, has the right to compete under the same rules as other people. High achievements in professional sports - the result of selection for genetic characteristics or a product of modern legalized pharmacology? Even now, modern medicine has the ability to predict the potential of a particular sport for a particular person: to determine the type of muscle tissue that predisposes to sprint or long distance training, connective tissue defects that determine the risk of developing injuries, and so on.


If in such a future there is a place for "imperfect" athletes like Biles? Where is the line between the necessary medical support that equalizes athletes and the potential advantage? AT modern sports(in the professional Olympic, not Paralympic) there is a place for people with growth disorders (Leo Messi underwent a long course of therapy due to growth hormone deficiency, and the drugs taken are on the banned list), athletes with diabetes (insulin is the same anabolic hormone) , people with impaired immune systems and those who have undergone organ transplantation (both of them take the notorious glucocorticosteroids). If for each of these categories their own world championships and Olympic Games are organized, this will be discrimination.

The closeness of WADA, the inability to clearly formulate the rules of the game and their rationale create the impression of chaos in the organization. In recent years, the list of prohibited drugs included drugs not only with unproven safety, but also with absolutely unproven effectiveness in professional sports. What and to whom does meldonium or a slightly earlier banned analogue of trimetazidine, extremely popular in the countries of the former CIS, give, it was not really possible to substantiate. Some accepted it because they believed it, others forbade it because they did not believe it.

As a doctor, I am sad to read the news about doping scandals with our athletes, especially in team and “technical” sports, where the very expediency of doping and its significant effectiveness are extremely doubtful. Indeed, in many situations this is due to inattention and disorganization. This may be taking dietary supplements for weight loss with an unspecified composition or energy drinks containing a weak psychostimulant methylhexanamine. Another example is taking diuretics, which in some sports can be used to more quickly eliminate other drugs, but most are used only for cutting. excess weight before the training camp, so as not to get fined for being overweight.

They take the same glucocorticosteroids as a means for the treatment of inflammatory processes, including injuries to the tendons, joints, and so on. It is solely a matter of the sports doctor's control, documenting all the remedies and issuing those very therapeutic exceptions, which has not happened even once in ten years in the case of Maria Sharapova. That is why Serena Williams is still on the court, but Maria is not. But Pandora's box has already been opened, and, apparently, we are waiting for streams of previously confidential information about leading athletes.

So, Russia will work out its position on participation in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang at the Olympic meeting on December 12th. Meanwhile, the world reaction to the decision of the IOC is ambiguous. On the one hand, without the participation of Russian athletes, who have repeatedly surprised with high results, the Olympics are called lame. On the other hand, statements slip, they say, that's the way they need it. Analyzed the whole range of emotions Elena Gorelchik.

Head of the Latvian Olympic Committee Aldonis Vrublevsky called the IOC verdict a Solomonic decision, and in the German Union skiing consider the removal of Russia a difficult and sad event. At the same time, according to the German journalist Hajo Seppelt, the author of films about doping in Russian sports, the IOC's decision is not tough enough.

Hajo Seppelt, journalist (Germany):"The Russian Olympic Committee should simply accept the terms of the IOC, but is not obliged to take any steps to combat doping in order to be reinstated in two and a half months. What does this mean? About a dirty deal between the IOC and the Kremlin to avoid a boycott? Already at the ceremony closing we will be able to see the Russian flag as if nothing happened. The ten-week suspension is just an IOC PR stunt to save face."

“The removal of the Russian team will reduce competition at the Games, but will not lead to a solution to doping problems,” the authoritative American publication Sports Illustrated believes.

"The Russians were not caught by anti-doping officials. They were caught by whistleblowers and journalists. It is naive to believe that such a unique case could stop doping in Olympic sport."

On the pages of USA today, the fact that the very name of the country will remain in the name of the team "Olympic Athlete from Russia" is already called the victory of Russia, if Russian athletes decide to compete under neutral flag. The journalists of the American magazine “Ekvaep” stated: “The games in Pyeongchang will not be the same as before without the Russians.

"Losing Russia is not what they want at the Games in South Korea. Ticket sales are low, nuclear tensions looming on the Korean Peninsula, and the absence of NHL players will diminish the appeal of hockey at the Games."

In the International Federation hockey to assess the decision of the International Olympic Committee in no hurry. The head of the IIHF, Rene Fasel, has repeatedly stated that collective punishment is not a solution to the problem, and called the evidence in the McLaren reports frivolous.

René Fasel, head of the International Ice Hockey Federation:"The IIHF needs 24 to 48 hours to realize what is happening. This is the first time in history that this has happened. We need to see how Russia reacts. We need to talk to the IIHF representatives, we will have to talk to Russia. It's too early to make statements."

Darius Kasparaitis already won the Olympics in 1992, playing under a neutral flag, but then, the hockey player recalls, the country of Russia did not exist.

Darius Kasparaitis, Olympic champion 1992 as part of the combined team: "As a hockey player, you want to play under any flag. All players know what country they live in, who they play for, who they represent. If the hockey team goes to win Olympic medals, everyone will know that this is the Russian team. For many, this may be the last chance."

The position of two-time world champion Czech Gabriela Koukalova was known long before the announced decision. For the removal of the Russians from the Olympics, the biathlete spoke out more than once.

“I feel sorry for those who doped unknowingly. I feel very sorry for the clean athletes who lost their awards due to fraud. Of course, athletes from other countries also use doping, but nowhere to date has such a large-scale systemic fraud been detected. Therefore, I I want the Olympics to take place without Russia."

This post on official page Koukalova on Facebook has already collected almost 10 thousand likes, about 800 comments and 450 reposts. On the Internet, the discussion of the IOC verdict is the main topic. The search engine gives 3 million 400 links to the query "Russia's suspension from the Olympics." And in social networks there are more and more pictures like these. On the left is Marit Bjorgen, a Norwegian skier who received official permission to take steroids as a cure for asthma. Right: Russian biathlete Olga Zaitseva, who was banned for life on December 1 for manipulation with doping tests. Or American Serena Williams, according to the authors of the collage, who prefers muesli, and Russian Maria Sharapova, who lives on steroids.

Rodion Gazmanov, singer, son of Oleg Gazmanov

"Of course, I'm worried about our athletes, I wish them victory. I'll cheer, I'll watch what's going on. I have such a wild schedule now, so I can't guess what I'll watch. I'll watch something in reruns. Competitions, where ours will win, I will definitely review.

It is clear that when it comes to world records, these are not only sports competitions, but also pharmaceutical ones. Unfortunately, this is part of the Olympics, part of professional sports. I've seen girls on the American women's rugby team who look more like men than most men. Remember, there was a picture - one of the Williams sisters with pumped up muscles and our thin, graceful Sharapova. Under Sharapova's signature: "Meldonium", under Williams - "Muesli".

Of course, it is very sad that professional athletes have to go on medication, but they must stay afloat. Therefore, to say that we have doping, but they don’t, is pure hypocrisy. My dad is also actively involved in sports, but I know for sure that he does not take doping. His doping is music. I have enough for morning exercises and evening jogging, which, in general, is also good. But do not confuse the sport to keep fit with professional sports where people work hard, where the athlete takes drugs to run two tenths of a second faster than his rivals.


Dima Bilan, singer

“I’ll probably turn on the TV - I really want to see familiar places (this year the artist took part in the relay race Olympic flame. - Approx. ed.). Rio is a really amazing city, so I still turn into a spectator, even though TV takes up only 5% of my time. What specific competitions I will watch, I can’t say yet. I love water sports very much, but in general, a little bit of everything is interesting. I will get acquainted with the general mood, how bright, interesting, emotional it is.

I can’t comment on the doping scandal - I think it would be wrong. I was in Rio on a mission, no matter how loud it sounds. He represented our country as a torchbearer and supported Russian athletes."

Viktor Sukhorukov, actor

“I can’t pass by a world-class event in which my country participates. All the more, I will root for our team, because I witnessed that disgrace, that inquisitorial torture that our athletes were subjected to in recent weeks and months. Moreover, this persecution was sophisticated - in suits, with refined manners. Healthy and talented people would not take part in this, would not attack such a serious country as Russia. Therefore, it is to spite them that I will watch, applaud, admire the successes of our team. And most of all I love look at team sports, where both human and anti-human traits are most pronounced.

Yuri Loza, singer

"This time I will not watch the Olympics. The most interesting thing for me is light and weightlifting - at these games, unfortunately, our athletes are not represented in these sports.

What do I think about the doping scandal? I think that Russia should have declared from the outset that we agree to participate in the Olympic Games only on the basis of Olympic principles. The Olympic principle is that everyone is equal. This means that you cannot agree to participate if they make us guilty. Russia should have withdrawn the application. And the money that we spend on the IOC and on all these things should be given to athletes from our country. Nobody prevents them from coming to competitions in private, and write "Russia" on their shorts or on a T-shirt. And what is happening now does not please me at all.”

Vladimir Berezin, actor, journalist, TV and radio presenter

“I wanted not to get sick, but after everything that happened to our Olympic team, I will watch, worry, and be proud. Most of all I love synchronized swimming and jumping into the water. Every time I wonder how these beautiful, spectacular performances turn out. I think these are the most beautiful sports. It is a pity that there will be no our athletes - I have always been amazed at their endurance, strength, and capabilities.

Margarita Sukhankina, singer

"I remember the Moscow Olympics-80. I was 16 years old at that time, I was a soloist of the Great Children's Choir of the All-Union Radio. And I remember what Moscow was like - clean, smart, festive. I'm sure that everything is in order in Rio, that it will cost without incidents, scandals. Now, although I am on vacation with my children in the Crimea, I will follow the Games and rejoice at every medal of our team."

Lyubov Poryvaeva

Felix Grozdanov

From sincere sympathy to open sarcasm - something like this can be summarized by the statements of the world press. Some even believe that the decision of the International Olympic Committee is not tough enough. Here is what the author of sensational films about doping, German journalist Hajo Sepelt, said.

Hajo Sepelt, journalist:“The Russian Committee should simply accept the conditions of the IOC, but is not obliged to fight doping in order to be reinstated in 2.5 months. So what does this say? About the IOC's dirty deal with the Kremlin to avoid a boycott. Already at the closing ceremony, we will be able to see the Russian flag, as if nothing had happened. A 10-week suspension is such an IOC PR stunt to save face."

The New York Times publishes a large drawing showing a doping sample swapping scheme. USA Today sports writer Christine Brennan writes, “It's amazing that the members of the IOC Executive Committee did it. They kicked out the scammers." The "sinister state doping machine" has been opened, which can only outdo the one that was in the days of the GDR.

The current scandal has forced many to recall, for example, the story of shot putter Heidi Krieger, who, after using hormones and steroids as prescribed by the coach, eventually changed sex. However, the GDR team was not subject to such sanctions.

Phototoads on the topic began to appear on the network. Here are photos of the muscular Norwegian skier Marit Bjorgen, who received permission to take steroids as a cure for asthma, and the lean Russian biathlete Olga Zaitseva, who was banned for life for manipulation with doping samples. And here is the American Serena Williams, who eats muesli, and the Russian Maria Sharapova, who lives on steroids.

Some media made a real show out of this story, but the host of the Comedy Central UK comedy program, after several sharp jokes, suddenly switched to a completely serious tone:

But you know who I feel sorry for? Innocent Russian athletes who did not dope or did not want to do, but devoted their lives to preparing for this Olympics.

What a sad and difficult situation. I worry about the "clean" athletes, I really sympathize and share the emotions that they are now experiencing, - American figure skater Charlie White wrote on his Twitter.

This decision is pure politics, it has nothing to do with punishing real scammers. There are still many "dirty" athletes who perform. And the decision of the IOC only opens the door for them, - skater Nick Pearson noted on Twitter.

And here is what the popular American blogger Anthony Brian Logan said on his channel called "conservative common sense":

30-40% of all Olympic athletes use doping. And the reason why Russia was suspended was supposedly state support for doping. And if this is the main reason for the removal, then with the same success it would be possible to remove other nations. Why not remove the US? This is purely a political move.

The athletes themselves understand better than all Russian colleagues. The famous French biathlete Martin Fourcade voiced what many Olympians are thinking about these days.

Martin Fourcade, biathlete:"For me Olympic Games practically unthinkable without the participation of Russia, such a huge country where everyone winter Games very popular. This is very sad, in Russia there are many clean athletes of very high training.

The headline of the authoritative American edition of Sports Illustrated supports the same idea. “The suspension of the Russian team is an important measure, but the victory will not be complete without the participation of Russian athletes.” Perhaps, after Russia, the most worried about the participation of Russian athletes is in South Korea, because it is she who will have to host the lame Olympics, as the games in Pyeongchang are already openly called. The media quoted an official statement from the Korean government: “The government of the Republic of Korea guarantees that everyone Russian athletes who come to the 2018 Olympics in their personal capacity will receive support of the same level and quality that the national teams will receive.”

While Western observers are wondering who Russian Olympians still perform at the games under a neutral flag, thousands of fans around the world write in social networks: in case of victory " Olympic athlete from Russia” it will be clear to everyone which country he played for.

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