Russian athlete is confused as to why we’re not allowed to take performance-enhancing drugs
In the wake of the Russian doping scandal-- athletics' largest drama of the year-- one Russian athlete has a question regarding banned drugs: Why can't we take them?
One track star who has brought three Olympic silver medals home to Russia is questioning the rules regarding banned performance-enhancing drugs. Tatyana Firova, a 400m runner, wants to know why we’re not allowed to use them.
This question comes in the wake of the mass drug scandal which got the country banned from the 2016 Olympics late last year. That happened after whistle blowers in Russian athletics called global attention to the systemic doping problem going on with all those involved in Russian athletics. It brought on an IAAF independent investigation where it was suggested that Russian be banned from all international competition because of their conduct.
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The lead of the investigation, Dick Pound, was unsure at the time whether or not the country could clean up their act on time for the August Games. Russians responded by calling the whole thing a “smear campaign” to discredit them. They also did their own investigation on the investigation where they found themselves to be not guilty.
The comments by Firova come not only after the biggest blowup in athletics this year, but also not long after she herself received a ban for testing positive.
According to News.sky.com, she is asking why the drugs are banned in the first place and has suggested that athletes cannot achieve high results without the help of these performance enhancers. According to News Sky, in addition to this, she also said that since “a normal person” can take banned drugs, athletes should be able to too.
The athlete has won medals for her country in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics where she participated in the 4×400 relay. Recently, her samples from the 2008 Olympics were re-tested and came up positive.
While the Games are happening in Rio in August, the deadline for deciding whether or not Russia will be readmitted into the Olympics is set for June 17.
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