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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
How Iga Swiatek explained away her doping case and escaped a serious ban
Iga Swiatek was the second high-profile tennis player to test positive for a banned substance last year, with the five-time grand slam champion receiving a one-month ban from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The ITIA announced that Swiatek had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) – a medication used to treat heart conditions that, in a sporting context, can increase blood flow and improve endurance. It came only months after men's World No 1 Jannik Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid. Sinner was cleared as the ITIA accepted there was 'no fault or negligence', and later agreed to a three-month suspension. Meanwhile, Swiatek was found to have been 'at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence' after the 23-year-old Polish player explained that her doping violation was caused by a contaminated supply of the non-prescription medication melatonin, which she uses to help with jet lag and sleep issues. Following interviews with Swiatek and analysis of the medicine from independent laboratories, the ITIA accepted the explanation that the melatonin provided to her by her physio was contaminated during manufacturing, resulting in an extremely low trace of TMZ. Swiatek tested positive in an out-of-competition sample on 12 August 2024, before the Cincinnati Open. How did the TMZ get into Swiatek's system? Swiatek explained that she has used melatonin to help regulate her sleep patterns and deal with jet lag, which came as a result of her frequent travel. In Poland, melatonin is classified as a medication and is available to buy off the shelf in pharmacies and Swiatek said her physio would usually buy the product for her. Swiatek competed at the Olympics in Paris, winning the bronze medal on August 2 after defeat to Qinwen Zheng in the semi-finals the previous day. She arrived at the Cincinnati Open shortly before August 12, where she was called to provide a sample for doping control at around 6-7am. A urine sample was collected and taken to a WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal for analysis. Swiatek was asked to list on a doping control form any 'medications or supplements' she had taken over the past seven days. She provided a list of 14 supplements and medications on the form but did not include melatonin, even though Swiatek later explained that she had ingested two to three tables of the product at around 2-3am that morning when she was unable to sleep. In providing evidence to the ITIA, Swiatek explained that she forgot to include melatonin because it was not on her list of medications and supplements that she would copy across from form to form. She also said she was tired, having had her sleep interrupted by being summoned by doping control. The ITIA later said the reasons for this omission were 'unsatisfactory'. Swiatek's urine sample was split into an A-sample and a B-sample, and the A-sample was found to contain the banned substance TMZ. Swiatek was informed of her positive test on September 12 and she replied two days later requesting further analysis of her B-sample, which returned the same result as the A-sample: a trace concentration of 50 pg/ml. How Swiatek proved contamination Swiatek was issued with a provisional suspension on September 12, which she appealed within the 10-day deadline. She denied deliberately or knowingly using TMZ, maintained she did not know what the source of the TMZ in her sample was, and told the ITIA that it must have been ingested by mistake through a contamination. After being informed of her positive B-sample, Swiatek and her team sent packages of all the products she had been using prior to the August 12 test - including the melatonin - to two laboratories, one in Paris and one in Strasbourg. The analysis of the products used by Swiatek showed the sample of melatonin tablets - a Poland-made product called LEK-AM Melatonina - she had taken on the morning of August 12 was contaminated with TMZ, and those results were sent to the ITIA. In response, the ITIA said it would examine the melatonin tablets at another WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah. But the ITIA said it was unable to contact the Polish manufacturer of the melatonin, despite attempting to do so by telephone and email, in order to obtain from themselves a container of the product from the same batch. The ITIA said that was not possible due to the product's expiry date and the non-response of the manufacturer. Instead, Swiatek's team provided both the opened container of the melatonin product used on August 12 and a sealed container from the same batch. The ITIA said it 'verified that the sealed container obtained was from the same batch as that used by Swiatek (the batch numbers matched) and the sealed container had a tamper-evident seal'. On 4 October, the laboratory in Salt Lake City said it had found TMZ in tablets from both the opened and previously sealed containers of the melatonin, and ruled that contamination had occurred during manufacturing. The ITIA ruled the whole batch of melatonin had been contaminated and, despite its non-response, the ITIA also said manufacturer of the melatonin also makes a TMZ product in the same factory. Additional testing and the ITIA's ruling Swiatek was also called for drug tests on August 1 and August 2, after her semi-final and bronze-medal match at the Paris Olympics, as well as during the US Open. She was informed of her positive test eight days after her quarter-final defeat to Jessica Pegula. All of the other doping tests around the August 12 date were negative, with Swiatek only using the melatonin product that morning because she was struggling to sleep. The ITIA ruled in Swiatek's favour and found the the negative tests, as well as samples of Swiatek's hair that did not contain traces of TMZ, showed that she could not have used the substance as a therapeutic dose before the August 12. The ITIA said Swiatek's violation was at the lowest end of the range of 'no significant fault or negligence'. Swiatek accepted the one-month suspension offered by the ITIA. 'Once the source of the TMZ had been established, it became clear that this was a highly unusual instance of a contaminated product, which in Poland is a regulated medicine,' ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said. 'However, the product does not have the same designation globally, and the fact that a product is a regulated medication in one country cannot of itself be sufficient to avoid any level of fault. Taking into account the nature of the medication, and all the circumstances, it does place that fault at the lowest end of the scale.'
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Enzo Fernandez believes Club World Cup matches in intense heat are ‘dangerous'
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has claimed playing matches in intense heat at the Club World Cup has been 'dangerous'. The Argentina World Cup winner says he felt dizzy during Tuesday's semi-final against Fluminense in New York, which kicked off at 3pm local time and during which the temperature hit 34C. Advertisement Extreme weather has been a recurring issue throughout the tournament in the United States and Fernandez hopes lessons are learned before next summer's World Cup is played on the same continent. Enzo Fernandez is concerned about playing in the heat in America (Mike Egerton/PA) Fernandez said: 'The truth is, the heat is incredible. The other day I got a little dizzy in the game. I had to throw myself to the ground because I was really dizzy. 'Honestly, playing in that temperature is very dangerous and obviously, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, and for the people who watch at home, the speed of the game isn't the same. Everything feels very slow. 'We hope they change the schedule next year so that it's a spectacle and football continues to be enjoyable and attractive.' Advertisement Fernandez was speaking ahead of Sunday's final in which Chelsea will play Paris St Germain, also at the MetLife Stadium and also at 3pm, when it is forecasted to be 30C. Jurgen Klinsmann said players need to adapt to the heat (Joe Giddens/PA) His comments come after former Germany striker Jurgen Klinsmann, who is now a member of world governing body FIFA's technical study group, defended the scheduling of some games during the hottest parts of the day. Klinsmann, a World Cup-winner in 1990 who also played in the 1994 tournament in the US, said: 'The heat is difficult. If you play in 90-degree heat then you are going to suffer. 'This has been something completely new and you have to deal with the circumstances. If a World Cup is in Qatar then you have to adapt. Football is about being able to adapt. Advertisement 'I played in Dallas at 120 degrees and I was dying! But do I go to Qatar like Germany and complain, complain and bring karma – and then go home early? 'The teams here now and the teams here next summer will have to adapt. It's not always nice, especially for European teams, but they will have to adapt.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
MI New York beat Texas Super Kings to reach MLC final
MI New York reached the final of Major League Cricket with a seven-wicket win over Texas Super Kings in York, who won the inaugural tournament in 2023, will face defending champions Washington Freedom in the final on Sunday (01:00 BST, Monday). They chased 167 with an over to spare as West Indies duo Nicholas Pooran (52* off 36) and Kieron Pollard (47* off 22) shared an unbroken 89 off 40 balls to get them over the Pooran sealed their progress with a six off the final ball of the 19th over to move to his half-century. Super Kings had posted 166-5 with Faf du Plessis making 59 off 42 balls at the top of the were 85-5 in the 14th over and threatening to not post a defendable score but West Indies' Akeal Hosein (55* off 32) and South Africa's Donovan Ferreira (32* off 20) put on 81 for the sixth wicket. The win completes New York's remarkable turnaround after just one victory in their opening seven finished fourth in the group stage with three wins but have won successive knockout matches to reach the final.
