Should Simona Halep be let off doping charges because her sample came from a ‘contaminated’ supplement?
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Simona Halep
Simona Halep continues to find ways to prove her innocence in the doping scandal that surrounds her. The two-time Grand Slam champion was caught by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITAI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after her urine sample taken during the 2022 US Open contained Roxadustat.
Roxadustat is a performance-enhancing drug which is on the WADA’s banned substance list. The drug helps in stimulating hemoglobin activity, resulting in enhanced oxygen consumption with the help of red blood cells. This drug furthers help the athletes to continue performing at a higher level than “normal.
Halep was caught by WADA and ITAI in late October after her season ended early due to a scheduled surgery. She is temporarily suspended from all tennis activities and is being investigated. If the investigation gives its verdict against the Romanian, she could be handed a ban for up to four years. However, recent developments have tilted the case in the former World No. 1’s favor.
As per the latest reports of ProSport, the Laboratoire Antidopage Francais (LADF), who have been brought on by Halep for studying her urine samples, have reportedly found the source of the drug. As per LADF, the oral supplements consumed by Halep did not mention the presence of Roxadustat on the label.
It also further challenged WADA as their tools to identify prohibited products also failed to identify the contents of the nutritional supplement. Another factor boosting Halep’s case is samples taken before and after her US Open round 1 match returned negative apart from the solitary sample that flagged the presence of the banned substance.
Is Simona Halep finding her way through the loophole in ITAI’s regulations?
While it will certainly help Simona Halep‘s cause with other samples returning negative, questions continue to pile up. All athletes are aware of the guidelines of ITAI and WADA that whatever supplements players consume, they are solely responsible if a banned substance is found in it.
The sneaky work of the supplement companies in not mentioning the entire list of contents is not a cause for a player’s innocence. They are willingly taking a ‘supplement’, something which isn’t natural and can’t be held up against the standards of natural food products. Another issue that comes up with ethical ambiguity raises as Halep’s sample after the match was not taken in New York but rather taken in Bucharest.
As Halep suffered a first-round exit at the US Open this year, she was quick to make her way back home and submitted her sample there. This said sample is now being brought in as a rescue sample for the player as it came out clean and is being argued as her post-match sample.
The biggest question is if the players are “manipulating” to have their way. Apart from Halep, even former World No. 7 Fernando Verdasco was recently found guilty of doping and suspended only for two months as he accepted the charges. The Spaniard found his way through the case arguing he ‘forgot’ to renew his Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE).
Irrespective of whatever way the substance found its way into Halep’s system, none can deny the fact that she was indeed found to have consumed a banned substance. ITAI and WADA can still rule against Halep if there turns out to be a discrepancy in the amount of Roxadustat found in her sample and the amount present in the ‘contaminated sample’.
Principles of anti-doping have made it clear time and again that unnatural products are not a window of escape for athletes if found guilty of doping. But the rule has been argued a lot and hardly any player has been sentenced for a long period of time. Halep’s case is headed on a similar track unless WADA and ITAI finally conform to their respective guidelines.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)