Jakarta defends its drug cheats at National Games<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's sports governing body yesterday
\ndefended its three athletes who failed dope tests at the 14th
\nNational Games, arguing that none of them was aware they were
\ntaking a banned substance.<\/p>\n
The organization's chairman, Kusnan Ismukanto, told a press
\nconference that investigators had found the athletes innocent of
\nany wrong-doing and hence, their punishment should be kept to a
\nminimum.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that their respective sports organizations will
\neventually declare them 'not guilty' because none of them took
\nthe drugs intentionally,\" Ismukanto said.<\/p>\n
The three athletes in question are men's tennis player Benny
\nWijaya, women's shot Titik Sumarni and men's judoka Dwi Sihmanto.
\nBenny tested positive for heptaminol acefyllinate, Titik for
\nephedrine and Dwi for lassig. The substances are all banned
\nstimulants.<\/p>\n
Ismukanto supported his argument with cases of athletes who
\nhave beaten a ban in a story titled \"Why Athletes Still Say Yes
\nto Drugs\" in this month's Reader's Digest.<\/p>\n
The story features, among other things, Australia's swimmer
\nSamantha Riley who escaped a ban when her lawyer explained that
\nher coach had mistakenly given her a prohibited substance.<\/p>\n
The story also mentions Finnish swimmer Petteri Lehtinen who
\navoided punishment when officials accepted he had forgotten to
\ndeclare a banned medicine he was taking for his asthma.<\/p>\n
Benny won two gold medals in both the men's team and
\nindividual tennis competition. However his urine sample, which
\ntested positive for the illegal drug, was taken after he finished
\nthe team competition. Cariamyl, the patent name of the medicine
\nBenny took, left no trace eight hours after it was ingested.<\/p>\n
Ismukanto quoted Benny, the country's former number one, as
\nsaying that the bronchodilator spasmolytic was given by a
\nphysician who has treated his rhinitis since his childhood.<\/p>\n
He thought the medicine was safe because Benny's coach Yustejo
\nTarik and Benny's patron Martina Widjaja, who escorted Benny to
\nthe doctor, had meticulously warned the doctor not to administer
\ndrugs which contained banned substances.<\/p>\n
Hence, Ismukanto said, \"We hope that the Indonesian Tennis
\nAssociation would withdraw, if it has to, only the men's team
\ngold medal.\"<\/p>\n
As for Titik, Ismukanto asked, \"Was it correct to say that
\nTitik had taken a performance-enhancing drug? If she really meant
\nto, why did she take ephedrine, which increases one's heart beat,
\nan effect which is detrimental to her composure?\"<\/p>\n
Titik won two gold medals, in the women's team and individual
\nstandard rifle prone. She was not aware that the over-the-counter
\ncough medicine she took, known locally as OBH, contains
\nephedrine.<\/p>\n
As for Dwi, it was clear that the male judoka took the
\nstimulant, on his doctor's advice, in order to reduce his weight,
\nIsmukanto said. Dwi lost four kilograms after taking the
\nsubstance so that he could compete in the men's 60kg category.
\n(arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-defends-its-drug-cheats-at-national-games-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}