BOLZANO. Double standards: this is the opinion of a former cyclist, Stephen Agostinidisqualified in the past for 15 months for an amount he says is similar to that found during the doping control of Jannik Sinner.
“An episode that I tried in various ways to remove from my life, almost exactly 11 years later comes back vividly to my mind – writes the former runner on Facebook, quoted by Tuttobiciweb -. It was August 21, 2013 when in a surprise anti-doping test I tested positive for an infinitesimal quantity of a substance that I had never heard of before. The cursed Clostebol, the active ingredient in an ointment used to treat cuts, skin abrasions and the like. The day after the team suspended me and a month later they fired me, a journalist (whose name I won’t mention, but I remember very well) wrote about my positive test, reporting that Clostebol had been widely used in state doping by East Germany”.
“For months I tried to explain to the UCI (International Cycling Union, Ed.) why those 0.7 nanograms were in my body and it was clear to everyone that there had been no intent to alter any performance – the post continues -. Following WADA (International Anti-Doping Agency, Ed.) regulations, they gave me a 15-month ban (one year and three months). I couldn’t accept it. I stopped racing at 24 years old”.
“In April 2024, the best tennis player in the world at 23 years old tested positive for the same quantity of the same substance, but for a long time nobody knew anything and after four months of silence (which led him to miss the Olympics due to “tonsillitis”) he was acquitted”.
“I’m happy – concludes Agostini – for him because I’m sure, as it was in my case, that the hiring was not aimed at improving athletic performance, but at the same time I remain perplexed by the total difference in approach compared to two athletes, both professionals (I don’t want to make comparisons), who practice different sports”.
2024-08-21 22:24:31