The best Floor / Vault gymnast of the past decade has been issued a “severe warning” by the International Gymnastics Federation.
His crime?
… for failing to comply with the procedures governing the fight against doping. …
FIG – Marian Dragulescu warned
Here’s the official letter from the Disciplinary Commission (PDF)
Nobody believes Marian Dragalescu is a doper. … It’s more that his Federation and the F.I.G. cannot keep track of if he’s retired, or not. … And where he’s living at any given time.
Isn’t that the Federation run by Adrian Stoica?
9 comments ↓
Poor Romanian Federation. They haven´t the power that USAG or British Federation have into FIG…
Many violate the rules too often but FIG only punishes those who have less power.
I think a firmer sanction should have been given. Disqualify him from the compeitions and strip the medals won (award them to the next placers). This should have been done ONLY for not meeting the admin requirement. Doing so, would have sent a firm message to other athletes of the strictness of the anti-doping programs and how they are run, DURING TRAINING.
The “mercy” would have been in giving no other sanctions (not banning for a year or whatever). But a “stern letter” is wimpy. Take the World Cup medal. That will send the message…
We need to be firm. Look at Lance and the US Postal team. Don’t be wimpy.
ITA. Especially if your read the entire proposal of the Disciplinary Commission and how often they wrote to the RGF and received no reply. It would be interesting to see how the FIG would have ruled against, say, Egypt or Turkey or another “lesser” federation.
Athletes competing in Olympic sports must follow the WADA rules to the letter. If Dragulescu was in violation in 2009, he should not have been allowed to compete in London.
It’s too bad that Track & Field and a few other sports have dragged other athletes into dealing with this kind of stuff, but that’s the way it is.
The firmness that needs to be shown from the FIG is in enforcing whatever rules are in place evenhandedly, decisively, and swiftly. Doing otherwise sends the message that the rules only matter some of the time for some of the people.
There isn’t a shred of evidence from anywhere that gymnasts have ever been involved in actual doping. Accusing people of actually cheating is not something to be taken lightly.
The fault lies entirely with the Romanian gymnastics federation. Unlike some of the small federations who have little experience with the FIG, the RFG should have taken the needed steps to ensure its athletes were following protocol. Taking medals from gymnasts who were screwed by their own countrymen accomplishes nothing, and only makes the FIG appear biased against athletes, not the gymnastics federation of the nation.
I wouldn’t support stripping Dragulescu of his medals. If the FIG knew Dragulescu hadn’t followed the rules (which it appeared they did) and still allowed him to compete, they should be the ones to live with the consequences, not Dragulescu. He didn’t win any of his medals through cheating.
These were paperwork violations. There is no evidence of any doping. Dragulescu took two drug tests in London and passed both of them.
I’m not sure he understood all the rules about reporting his whereabouts.
A. It’s the gymnast’s responsibility to get that stuff in. They know they are supposed to report wherabouts all the time, so drug tests can be done.
B. The way to show something is serious, is PULL THE MEDALS. A stern letter means nothing. It’s actually showing any dopers how NON-SERIOUS the FIG is.
Normally I would have no problems with stripping the medals, but FIG also did nothing to stop him from competing at Worlds last year, knowing he had not met requirements.
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