Latest news with #Tygart
Irish Examiner
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Elite athletes warned to avoid one-night stands over risk of failing drug tests
Elite athletes have been warned against having one-night stands because of the risk they could be contaminated with banned drugs from engaging in casual sex. The warning came as top lawyers and anti-doping experts debated contamination cases in sport before highlighting the hidden dangers for the Tinder generation. Mark Hovell, a sports lawyer and the independent chair in the Jannik Sinner anti-doping case, raised the issue of the French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was cleared after testing positive for cocaine after showing it came from kissing a woman in a nightclub. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,' Hovell added. ''I kissed him in this nightclub.' But with a one-night stand, how are you going to be able to find that person again? That's the problem.' Asked whether an elite athlete was opening themselves up if they didn't get a phone number of the person they slept with, Hovell nodded before saying: 'They might not have the evidence they need.' Another panellist, Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, cited the case of the American boxer Virginia Fuchs in 2020. Fuchs tested positive for prohibited substances, but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected in her sample were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with her male partner. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart told the Sports Resolutions conference. Tygart also called on the World Anti-Doping Agency to raise the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted, such as clostabal and ostarine – so that if anti-doping laboratories found a trace amount in an athletes' sample they would not risk a sanction. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair,' said Tygart. The Guardian
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Athletes warned one-night stands could lead to failed drugs tests
Tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, with the Frenchman able to prove that it entered his system after kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,' leading sports lawyer Mark Hovell explained at the Sports Resolutions conference in London. ''I kissed him in this nightclub.' But with a one-night stand, how are you going to be able to find that person again? That's the problem.' Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), also cited the example of American boxer Virginia Fuchs, who tested positive for prohibited substances in 2020 but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with her partner. Tygart, who has criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency regularly over the last 12 months, called on the body to relax the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted so that athletes were not at risk of suspension. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. 'The onus is always on the athletes – we as anti-doping organisations, need to take some of that responsibility back. And I worry how many of the intentional cheats are actually getting away because we're spending so much time and resources on the cases that end up being someone kissing someone at a bar.'
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Athletes warned one-night stands could lead to failed drugs tests
Doping officials have warned elite athletes that they should avoid one-night stands to avoid a risk of contamination with banned substances. Tennis player Richard Gasquet was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2009 after testing positive for cocaine, with the Frenchman able to prove that it entered his system after kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'Gasquet managed to get her to come and give evidence to say: 'Yes, I'm a cocaine addict. I use cocaine,' leading sports lawyer Mark Hovell explained at the Sports Resolutions conference in London. ''I kissed him in this nightclub.' But with a one-night stand, how are you going to be able to find that person again? That's the problem.' Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), also cited the example of American boxer Virginia Fuchs, who tested positive for prohibited substances in 2020 but was cleared after proving that the metabolites detected were consistent with recent exposure via sexual transmission with her partner. Tygart, who has criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency regularly over the last 12 months, called on the body to relax the minimum reporting level of substances that could be sexually transmitted so that athletes were not at risk of suspension. 'I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss and watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. 'The onus is always on the athletes – we as anti-doping organisations, need to take some of that responsibility back. And I worry how many of the intentional cheats are actually getting away because we're spending so much time and resources on the cases that end up being someone kissing someone at a bar.'
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Elite athletes told to AVOID one-night stands due to the risk of drug contamination
Anti-doping experts have told elite athletes to avoid one-night stands to limit their chances of being contaminated with banned drugs. Performance-enhancing drugs were on the agenda at a conference in London on Thursday, with experts calling for rules to be changed so that there is a clearer distinction between intentional cheating and contamination. Two high-profile cases in recent years have seen athletes cleared of intentional doping after claiming drugs got into their system via their sexual partners. Back in 2009, tennis star Richard Gasquet was cleared after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that his positive test for cocaine was 'probably' caused by kissing a woman in a nightclub. Five years ago, US boxer Virginia Fuchs was then cleared of any wrongdoing after it came to light her partner was using therapeutic doses of GW1516, a banned substance that boosts endurance. An investigation found the metabolites in her sample 'were consistent with recent exposure to the substances via sexual transmission'. Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has now warned athletes that they should be careful about who they enter into sexual relationships with. US boxer Virginia Fuchs (pictured) was also cleared in 2020 after the metabolites found in her sample 'were consistent with recent exposure to the substances via sexual transmission' 'It's so pathetic that we're having this conversation,' Tygart admitted. 'But I think based on the cases we've seen, watch who you kiss. Watch out who you have an intimate relationship with. 'To tell that to elite athletes, I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. The onus is always on the athletes. We as anti-doping organisations need to take some of that responsibility back. 'And I worry how many of the intentional cheats are actually getting away because we're spending so much time and resources on the cases that end up being someone kissing someone at a bar. 'Really, it's incredible to think that you have to tell athletes to be careful who they may have intimate relationships with. And it's why we have to change the system, so that's not the world that elite level athletes are expected to live under.' Tygart revealed that changes to anti-doping rules are set to be made with regards to certain substances. He namechecked Clostebol, the anabolic steroid that Jannik Sinner tested positive for last year. The No 1 ranked male tennis player denied any wrongdoing, but later accepted a three-month ban which he has nearly completed. Tygart also mentioned Ostarine, a substance that was found in boxing star Ryan Garcia's system following his fight with Devin Haney last year. Garcia also denied intentional use of the substance, but accepted a one-year ban. Tygart said: 'There's a handful of substances that you could say at certain levels, and we're talking very, very low levels, you put in an MRL [minimum reporting level]. 'Wada is already doing it for clenbuterol, meat enhancers, and diuretics. Add a few more substances to that, Clostebol would be one of those, because we know it can transfer between people through intimacy. Ostarine is another.'
Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Athletes warned kissing strangers and one-night stands risk drug bans
Elite athletes have been warned that even a kiss, let alone a one-night stand with a stranger, could leave themselves open to a career-threatening anti-doping violation. Arguing for a change in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) code to raise the threshold for substances that can be transported 'through intimacy', Travis Tygart, who heads the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), said that the current situation risked diverting resources away from catching real cheats. Tygart, who oversaw the operation that exposed Lance Armstrong's US Postal cycling team, is regarded as one of the most foremost anti-doping crusaders in world sport, but he wants greater leniency in this area. The tennis player Richard Gasquet once returned an anti-doping violation after kissing a woman in a nightclub who had been taking cocaine, but won his appeal after the woman herself corroborated his account. Tygart, who was speaking at the annual Sport Resolutions conference in London, also cited an American boxer called Virginia Fuchs, who avoided a suspension after she was able to show that an adverse finding had been caused by sexual transmission from her male partner. 'With Gasquet, he managed to get her to come and give evidence to say, 'Yes, I use cocaine. I kissed him in this nightclub',' said Mark Hovell, a sports lawyer at Mills & Reeve. Asked what would happen if an athlete had a kiss or one-night stand with someone they could not later track down, Hovell said: 'That's the problem – they might not have the evidence they need.' Tygart said that it was 'pathetic' that athletes could be placed in this situation. 'I think based on the cases we've seen: watch who you kiss, watch out who you have an intimate relationship with,' Tygart said. 'I think it's a pretty ridiculous world we're expecting our athletes to live in, which is why we're pushing to try to change these rules to make it more reasonable and fair. 'The onus is always on the athletes – we as anti-doping organisations, need to take some of that responsibility back. And I worry how many of the intentional cheats are actually getting away because we're spending so much time and resources on the cases that end up being someone kissing someone at a bar.' Tygart later explained that, as with some substances on the anti-doping code that are found in food, there were certain substances that can transfer between people through 'intimacy' and that it was simply a question of adjusting the minimum reporting level. Wada dropped a lawsuit against Usada earlier this year after Tygart alleged a cover-up in the handling of 23 Chinese swimmers, who were cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. The China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) had said that positive tests for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) were caused by contamination, a finding that Wada said that it could not disprove. It defended its processes and accused Tygart of a 'completely false and defamatory' claim. Tygart said on Thursday that China had still faced no consequences for a 'failure to follow the rules' and said that, according to a new study of the Tokyo and Paris Games, potentially 96 medals were impacted by the 23 swimmers who still competed. 'Until we get reasonable answers and honest answers, nobody should let it go away,' Tygart said. 'The big picture is you're talking 96 medals... 96 potential medals that the world deserves to know. And clean athletes certainly deserve to know. 'If we can't get Wada right, our athletes and others around the world are going to suffer by not having a fair and level playing field. We [the US in 2028] don't want to host a Sochi Olympic Games where dozens, if not more medals, are ultimately returned because the cheating was so rampant at those Games, as we now know.' Chinada says that the swimmers had not broken anti-doping rules and that the results were caused by contamination.
