It was not contaminated supplement. It was listed on the label. Why does she get a ban reduction for that?!?

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Here Instagram states “Fueled by Real Food.” Some irony right there

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Matt

Where in the linked release from USADA did they mention the reduced ban was due to a contaminated supplement? When I read the statement it clearly said the ingredient was listed on the bottle and laid out several reasons why they gave this individual a reduced ban (none of which referenced a contaminated supplement).

So saying you don't know anything about anti-doping and giving them the supplement bottle and generally being cooperative calls for an 80% reduction in the length of the ban? I'll have to re-read the section in the code about reduced penalties... I don't remember that one.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

So, ignorance gets a reduced ban?
Shit, she even told them she was taking it.

USADA determined that a reduced sanction was appropriate due to Schafer’s lack of anti-doping education, forthright declaration of the supplement on her doping control form, and cooperation throughout the results management process.

I would say it's really really rare to outright be truthfully from the very beginning of the process.

ETA: I'm surprised they even tested her considering she said she was taking an illegal substance on the form the day of the testing. I think that's a infraction as is.


But every time I've meet with USADA with athletes, they always say simply be truthful from the start.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

 
She looks like she's definitely on the War Juice

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What's your CdA?

Hmm, different athlete to this thread, but same substance (and from a supplement).

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...by_the_ITU_P6999908/

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29 years and counting

USAT need to male everyone sign up to Slowtwitch for anti-doping education 😁

I find it totally unbelievable in the 21st century that arhletes ate not aware of at least basic anti doping rules and sources. There's PLENTY if cases in the public domain reported in mainstream media about contaminated supplements.

It doesn't take long on Mr Google to find out - it probably took longer to order the pre-race-mega-bulls-testicles-on-speed supplement on line.

if only she knew someone who was a medical professional to advise her.

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29 years and counting

Is it just me? Her muscle definition doesn’t look natural to me.

Why is that surprising??? You’ve never told a cop that you didn’t see or know the speed limit or missed the (fill in the blank) sign. I’m certainly not defending this athlete at all, but We constantly give people breaks for ignorance in this society, legitimate or not.

Considering that the supplement is not considered lawful in the us by the fda, doesn't that mean she's basically ordering it from some overseas online retailer? Kind of hard to plead ignorance when it is not in the "generally recognized as safe" category that all supplements should in the us fall under.

" it probably took longer to order the pre-race-mega-bulls-testicles"


Glad I wasn't sipping my coffee or it would be all over the laptop. I am envisioning a Randy the Macho Man Savage "OH Yeeaaahhhh" after drinking some. I actually think the ignorance is honest. If you can buy it from a website or a GNC then it is fine in prolly 90% of people out there, maybe more.

Its not unlawful in the US. That's how she did it. Just because the FDA doesn't regulate it doesn't make it illegal.

I would say that her IG feed is average for the typical annoying triathlete and would not consider it narcissistic. There are few details in the release but I suspect USADA handled it fairly. Honestly it does not seem worthy of firing up the outrage machine for. She made a mistake and was punished for it. Big whoop.

That's not what the link provided in the article stated. The ingredient is not legally allowed to be marketed as a dietary supplement. Supplements are in a sort of quasi-regulated environment in the US. While they are under the same GMP regulations as pharmaceutical products, there's not enough resources to enforce as often without cause. For a supplement to be marketed without safety/efficacy data, it needs to be specifically " Generally recognized as safe" or GRAS. Products not meeting this standard can be found to be adulterated and pulled from the market, but as I stated earlier for supplements most of those audits are for cause due to customer complaints.

Here's the link from the FDA page

https://www.fda.gov/...edient-advisory-list

Guys, she competed in duathlon. No one cares about duathlon. Let’s move on.

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Alex Arman

Strava

Along with ignorance though this was a very forthcoming athlete from the beginning. She wasn’t “hiding” what she took. She was as truthful as possible.

One of the few cases I’ve ever heard of an athlete truthfully detailing on the form what substance are in their system. Most just ignore that section and wait for the test result to then say “I have no clue how that drug got into my system”....i love this one the most “I didn’t KNOWINGLY take a banned substance”.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

What the FDA said is this "FDA identifies ingredients that do not appear to be lawfully included in products marketed as dietary supplements".....which means its not illegal.....yet. Its in a weird middle ground until the FDA takes definitive action.

On one hand I would be pissed if it was beaten by a doper but I can see where the USADA and WADA are in a hard spot with stuff like this. My take is that the ban length should be in part based on the drugs performance enhancement level of what ever was taken.

Example: caffeine is a PED but slightly = no ban. EPO is a PED with HUGE benefits and should = a long ban

Let me caveat my statement with this....I haven't read the relevant article here.

But, I do try to put myself in the shoes of an AGer who gets busted for this. On the one hand, there are clearly AGers trying to beat the system, dope etc. Its sad. Much more sad and pathetic than a pro doing so. While these people mean very little to me, I also understand others vying for Kona slots or other accolades want and deserve a clean race. So, I'm generally fine with the testing and corresponding punishments.

On the other hand, personally, I have no idea if any substances I have consumed--or perhaps regularly consume--contain any sort of banned substance in them. I don't knowingly take anything illegal. Nor am I consuming any bizarre "shakes" or "supplements" so I highly doubt I'm doing anything wrong. But, if a doctor prescribes me something or if I need something to get thru a cold of the flu, I'm hardly considering the potential conseqences for a potential triathlon drug test. So, if an athlete is busted for unknowingly taking a banned substance, I can certainly understand that is a legitimate possibility. I'm not necessarily saying that ignorance should even be a defense, but I'm also not going to accuse such a person of the most heinous crimes ever committed. It actually makes perfect sense to me that an AGer is actually MORE like to unknowingly take a banned substance because they are far less likely to pay attention to the precise ingredients of things we consume.

Let me caveat my statement with this....I haven't read the relevant article here.

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The gist I got isn't that she got off because of her "ignorance" of the anti-doping regs. It's that she was truthful from the start of the process, and the lines up with every talk/meeting I've had with USADA. That's the 1 thing USADA tells the athlete- "be upfront and truthful" and they can do everything in their power to make a bad situation not as bad as it can be.


But again it's when athletes get tested, don't put down any meds on the list, get popped and then come back with "I had no clue that was in my system".....USADA in those instances has no sympathy because you weren't "playing ball".


This is a really probaly bad comparison, but we do this in our legal system now dont we? You plead to an offense, you usually get the lightest punishment. You say your innocent and make the court go through all the processes, well your likely to get hit pretty hard with a penalty.




So I think you guys are missing that important factor here (ignore the IG flattery of the athlete for a second). It's not the ignorance that got her off, it's the truthfulness from the start of the process and being 100% upfront about it. Of course that takes gumption as I dont think I've ever heard of a case of an athlete knowingly admit to taking a banned substance on the testing form. That right there is already admitting guilt.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

In that case, i think you are probably right about her admission going a long way in this process.