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LAST UPDATED ON Friday October 31 2003 |
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Lyons appeals Olympic suspensionSept 07 2000Globe and Mail Update By ROBERT MACLEOD Robin Lyons has launched an appeal in a last-ditch attempt to be reinstated to Canada's Olympic team, claiming the reliability of her drug test results are dubious at best. A notice of protest on behalf of the Edmonton hammer thrower was faxed yesterday afternoon to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport by Lyons's lawyer, Tom Cooke of Edmonton. The faxed documents contained a letter from David Kilgour, a Progressive Conservative MP from Edmonton, urging federal sports minister Denis Coderre to give the matter his immediate attention. "The ball's in their court," Cooke said yesterday in reference to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. "We're hoping they'll agree with our submissions and set aside the suspension. If not, we'll be looking at some other alternatives that are available to us that I don't want to get into right now. "We believe they will be fast-tracking this to make a decision as soon as humanly possible." Lyons, 23, the Canadian champion and record holder in the hammer throw, has denied that she knowingly used performance-enhancing substances, but the Centre for Ethics remains adamant that its testing procedures are sound. Casey Wade, the director of drug-free sport at the centre, confirmed the organization received the Lyons documents and it will be up to a "review board" to rule on the matter" in a timely fashion, hopefully within 36 hours." If Lyons does not agree with the verdict from the review board, she has the right to take the matter to an independent arbitrator. She tested positive for a performance-enhancing steroid in a test carried out last month at the Canadian Olympic track and field trials in Victoria. The tests revealed high levels of norandrosterone, a byproduct of one of three forms of the anabolic steroid Nandrolone. The results of the test were made public on Tuesday, the day she was suspended from Canada's Olympic team. Lyons, ranked 18th in the world in the hammer throw, was informed of the results of the test on Aug. 29, one day before she was to depart for Australia to begin preparations for the Olympics. In her appeal notice to the Centre for Ethics, the athlete argues there is no firm basis on which to set a normal level of the substance. She is challenging the validity and reliability of the drug test, citing "an unacceptably large degree of inconsistency between the two test results." Lyons claims the first test of her urine sample found a concentration of norandrosterone higher than the threshold limit that is allowed in the sport. But that test was deemed invalid because of its dilution. A subsequent test was conducted and the result indicated Lyons had a concentration of norandrosterone under the threshold limit. According to the Centre for Ethics, of the two valid samples of the athlete's urine, the first one showed 1.2 nanograms per millilitre, well under the legal limit of 5.0. But in her second sample, the traces of norandrosterone soared to 9 nanograms/ml. Norandrosterone is a naturally occurring substance in the body. Lyons contends in her protest it has been scientifically proven that elite athletes "have a great potential for the existence of elevated levels of certain hormones" in their bodies. "She's right, it [norandrosterone] does occur naturally, and like testosterone, the levels do fluctuate ‹ to some degree," said Victor Lachance, the chief executive office of the Centre for Ethics. "But the thing is, all this is known." Lachance said extensive research has proven that a woman's menstruation cycle can increase the level. "And everything we know . . . tells us that the highest you can ever get is about 1 nanogram per millilitre," he noted. "And the IOC set the threshold at 5 ‹ a huge margin of comfort. And, of course, she tested at 9. So the science methods are sound. The whole methodology here, I think is quite reliable." Lyons admits she has used nutritional supplements such as creatine and various amino acid and protein compounds during her training, but noted there is no banned substance listed as an ingredient in any of the products she used. In her protest, Lyons speculates her nutritional supplements were possibly "contaminated" at the source of production. The women's Olympic hammer throw event is not scheduled to begin until Sept. 27, and Lyons and her supporters believe she would still be able to compete if she receives an expedient and favourable decision from the Centre for Ethics. "We're very supportive of Robin," said John Thresher, the president and chief executive officer of Athletics Canada. "She's a very fine young athlete. She's our Canadian record holder and Canadian champion, and obviously we're very disappointed for her. "It's our intent to support her and to support the protest that she's putting in. We take the view that she's innocent until proven guilty, and we hope she's successful with the protest." Check out the Jumpstart Athletics Canadian National Throws Rankings for complete rankings in the throws. If you have news, results or info please let us know by using our submission form or emailing Larry Steinke [ MEET INFORMATION ] [ ANALYSIS & TIPS ] [ THROWS ARTICLES ] [ INTERVIEWS ] [ RECORDS ] [ RESULTS ] [ CLASSIFIEDS ] [ HOT LINK ARCHIVE ] [ DISCUSSION FORUM ] [ SUBMISSIONS ] [ THROWERS QUIZ ] [ GUESTBOOK ] | ||