Entire Russian U-18 team replaced due to positive drug tests

[Macman]

Whole MHL took this drug after Cherepanov's tragedy as a medical treatment for heart. And now WADA banned it and suddenly all of them are dirty cheaters and doping takers in the eyes of the world. "Well, they are Russians, what did you expect?". Makes me sick.

The whole league had heart issues? Come on. There is no reason for fit elite athletes to be taking this stuff except for the purported benefit of fending off exhaustion, which is the definition of performance-enhancing. If teams are giving it en masse to kids, they deserved to be sanctioned.

 

[KarIgo87]

If the U17 team goes in the U18 team's place, then we certainly might see Svechnikov.

Svechnikov mostly played for U16. I think it'll be the ones who played 2 months ago at U17 Five Nations Tournament in Michigan, couple of NA players and those who have visa for the USA.

 

[Yakushev72]

I think KHL is gonna be done after this scandal, can you imagine their players skating hard 50% less time as hard as they could before that. That explains it all (sarcasm)

WADA has no control over the KHL. It only has influence with international bodies such as IIHF that subscribe to its protocol.

 

[KarIgo87]

The whole league had heart issues? Come on. There is no reason for fit elite athletes to be taking this stuff except for the purported benefit of fending off exhaustion, which is the definition of performance-enhancing. If teams are giving it en masse to kids, they deserved to be sanctioned.

It's a professional sport, don' be naive. Aspirin, painkillers are performance enhancing drugs too? Don't tell me that in other countries players don't take some legal medication in order to survive long and physically exhausting season. And in Russia nobody considered meldonium as potentialy illegal drug for performance-enhancing. It was part of training process.
And WADA has no real proof for its banning just "these Russians are taking it - it must be doping".

But it's already banned so no one to blame other then themselves.

 

[Yakushev72]

Finnish hockey reporter J-P Mikola wrote a column (in Finnish, obviously) where he tells about his chat with a former Finnish KHL player.

That player told Mikola that they used meldonium in a regular basis and it surely helped: they could play 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts instead of the normal 30-40 seconds.

This is crap! Meldonium is not a miracle drug. There is nothing in the literature that documents users having superhuman powers. Even if it had those powers, it wouldn't be only Finns and Russians who regularly take it. It would have been very popular in the NHL up until January 1, where players get paid a lot more, and it would have been very much appreciated by their bosses and the fans if they could skate 80 second turbo-powered shifts without even breaking a sweat!

Ban it - fine! Fire or ban those who violate the protocol - fine! But lets not retroactively assign it some power that it doesn't have. At most, it would have helped players recover after a long shift, in case they needed it. Nothing more!

 

[Proust*]

No, I've been a staunch anti-WADA advocate ever since the Dick Pound days. They're no better than FIFA or the IOC. It's all about power and perception, not truly cleaning sports. An institution that has no appeals process and doesn't have to back-up its decisions with facts or proof in any way has no right to make decisions that govern and alter the lives of millions of people. In the past they've gone out of their way to shame, vilify and suspend athletes who've inadvertently taken something with minuscule traces of some prohibited substance (to treat medical issues) and placed them right along side long-time legitimate dopers, which is simply reprehensible.

Still not convinced it's not the Latvia angle...

 

[Garl]

The whole league had heart issues? Come on. There is no reason for fit elite athletes to be taking this stuff except for the purported benefit of fending off exhaustion, which is the definition of performance-enhancing. If teams are giving it en masse to kids, they deserved to be sanctioned.

When are Inozine and Levocarnitine getting banned?

 

[Vaeltaja]

Manufacturer says half life is 3 to 6 hours, which they explained may mean that after 2-4 days it is gone from the body

Had you read the article i linked you would have noticed that the half life times i quoted were not from manufacturer but instead from a clinical pharmacology study conducted independently from the manufacturer.

Now apparently a french company hired by Russians can confirm for sure that it is detected at least after 120 days after last use, so this statement by manufacturer is highly misrepresented.

Then post that evidence.

 

[Vaeltaja]

When are Inozine and Levocarnitine getting banned?

Both of those substances are essential for human life. Meldodium is not. Hence neither inosine or L-carnitine can ever be banned.

 

[Fantomas]

Svechnikov mostly played for U16. I think it'll be the ones who played 2 months ago at U17 Five Nations Tournament in Michigan, couple of NA players and those who have visa for the USA.

Maybe. However Svechnikov has played at that level and it would be nice to see him at the tournament.

 

[Garl]

Finnish hockey reporter J-P Mikola wrote a column (in Finnish, obviously) where he tells about his chat with a former Finnish KHL player.

That player told Mikola that they used meldonium in a regular basis and it surely helped: they could play 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts instead of the normal 30-40 seconds.

Then we have a mistery:

If meldonium in fact helps as much, then why were canadians, swedes and ufc fighters not using it on regular basis until it was banned? It's not a new drug, it's from 1975.

I don't have any other explanation other than nobody in the World uses any kind of medical stuff in their training process, only russians do and it's because russians are aboslute evil.

 

[KarIgo87]

Then we have a mistery:

If meldonium in fact helps as much, then why were canadians, swedes and ufc fighters not using it on regular basis until it was banned? It's not a new drug, it's from 1975.

I don't have any other explanation other than nobody in the World uses any kind of medical stuff in their training process, only russians do and it's because russians are aboslute evil.

 

[v-man]

Still not convinced it's not the Latvia angle...

Good thing what you believe is irrelevant. Even if there was a Latvia angle, how does that make anything I've said any less true? It's all fact.

 

[KarIgo87]

Maybe. However Svechnikov has played at that level and it would be nice to see him at the tournament.

Yeah, since it's obvious now that nobody expects medals from them so they could call some top '00 players like Svechnikov, Khovanov, Denisenko (though he's probably to light for that level) but I doubt they'll go for it.

 

[Zine]

Finnish hockey reporter J-P Mikola wrote a column (in Finnish, obviously) where he tells about his chat with a former Finnish KHL player.

That player told Mikola that they used meldonium in a regular basis and it surely helped: they could play 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts instead of the normal 30-40 seconds.

Quit posting nonsense. Nobody in the KHL is playing 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts. It's quite obvious if you simply watch a game.

If there was a legal drug that could make you do as such, every player from every league would have been taking it. Don't think otherwise.

That's some great journalism right there. LOL

 

[Proust*]

Good thing you're opinion is irrelevant.

I have no horse in this race, so it is certainly more relevant than yours.

 

[Thebesthockey]

Russian hockey: meldonium + age "fixing" in minor hockey

 

[kp61c]

Finnish hockey reporter J-P Mikola wrote a column (in Finnish, obviously) where he tells about his chat with a former Finnish KHL player.

That player told Mikola that they used meldonium in a regular basis and it surely helped: they could play 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts instead of the normal 30-40 seconds.

so dumb, love it

 

[Macman]

Quit posting nonsense. Nobody in the KHL is playing 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts. It's quite obvious if you watching a game.

If there was a legal drug that could make you do as such, every player from every league would have been taking it. Don't think otherwise.

Ridiculous.

Then why are they taking it? I'm genuinely curious. People are trying to downplay this and the supposed benefits of this stuff, but when entire teams and leagues are taking it, they must at least think it's doing something. What do they think it's doing for them?

 

[Jussi]

Quit posting nonsense. Nobody in the KHL is playing 60-70 seconds full-speed shifts. It's quite obvious if you simply watch a game.

If there was a legal drug that could make you do as such, every player from every league would have been taking it. Don't think otherwise.

That's some great journalism right there. lol Ridiculous.

Full speed can mean a lot of things. Full speed is a bit different for example to Oskar Osala or Teemu hartikainen.

Also, why would you attack the jounralist when he's merely quoting a player? As I mentioned. the journalist in question is one of the best in Finland. His credibility is basically in the Bob McKenzie level.

 

[Jussi]

WADA has no control over the KHL. It only has influence with international bodies such as IIHF that subscribe to its protocol.

It's the national anti-doping agencies that conduct the tests in each respective counntries.

 

[Garl]

Both of those substances are essential for human life. Meldodium is not. Hence neither inosine or L-carnitine can ever be banned.

Testosterone is also essential for human life. Hemoglobine is also essential for human life. Yet, if you have too much of it you're banned.
Riboxine is escentially used for the same purposes as mildronate(for extra picky people, let's not talk about specifics of mechanism of enhancing energy)

 

[KarIgo87]

Then why are they taking it? I'm genuinely curious. People are trying to downplay this and the supposed benefits of this stuff, but when entire teams and leagues are taking it, they must at least think it's doing something. What do they think it's doing for them?

"They" are mostly Russians, other countries have their own legal medical treatment. According to Ivars Kalvinsh, the inventor, meldonium was used by athletes to prevent damage to the heart and muscles caused by lack of oxygen during high-intensity exercise.
But really, if it's so effective and enhances performance so much why it was used only in Eastern Europe? It was legal for 40 years and according to some journalists it could have done wonders to western athletes' performances. I guess they're just noble that way.

 

[Garl]

Maybe the responsible guys should, you know, check if the substances they are taking are on the banlist?

Main question is: how long does it stay in the system?
You know, you can blame a steretypical russian vodka-drinking doctor of speedskaters or russian-mafia "vor v zakone" doctor from a hockey team, but Sharapova and Efimova who have amercian coaсhing staff and live in USA also got caught.
Putin made them take it?

 

[ViD]

IIHF has their own rules.

Russians, what else can you say. They've got caught nearly in every sport I can think of just in a few months. Can't play by the rules can you?

that drug was LEGAL up until this year.