WINTER OLYMPICS VANCOUVER 2010:TWO OLYMPIC athletes lost chances of early golds when they were prevented from competing after blood tests at the Winter Games in Vancouver returned high haemoglobin levels.
Nordic combined athlete Niyaz Nabeev, of Russia, and Estonian cross-country skier Kaspar Kokk were not allowed to compete from February 12th-16th, the international ski federation (FIS) said yesterday, after the pre-competition blood tests.
Nabeevs “start prohibition” meant he missed yesterday’s Normal Hill Nordic Combined event. He is also due to compete in the Long Hill Nordic Combined, training for which begins on February 19th.
Kokk will miss the 15km cross country event which is due to take place today. He will next be eligible to compete in the men’s individual sprint on Wednesday.
The “start prohibition” is not a sanction, FIS said in its report, but is in order to protect the health of the athlete.
The athletes will need to pass a fresh test before they can be cleared to compete.
Athletes with high haemoglobin levels are not necessarily doing anything wrong. Some have naturally high levels while others may be dehydrated.
As a precaution, FIS routinely suspends skiers with high levels. FIS said 304 athletes have been tested so far.
Canadian confidence was giving way to talk of a Canadian Olympic curse after the hosts failed to strike gold on the opening day of competition at the Vancouver Games.
The only country to have staged a summer (1976 Montreal) and winter (1988 Calgary) Olympics and never win a gold medal; Canada had looked to end the national embarrassment in short order with an opening-day assault on the top of the podium.
But Canadas gold medal drought extended into a third Olympics in the cruellest of fashions when American moguls skier Hannah Kearney snatched victory from home hope Jenn Heil on the last run of the night on Cypress Mountain.
Meanwhile, Olympic lugers are convinced the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili was caused by “driver error” and not a dangerous track, according to British Olympic Association performance director Clive Woodward. Kumaritashvili died on Friday in a training accident, after crashing near the end of the track at the Whistler Sliding Center. He went over the wall of the track and hit a steel pole near the finish line.
However, Woodward, with the team in Vancouver, has discussed the issue with British luger AJ Rosen.
Reports have claimed there has been some dissent from competitors, concerned the luge event is continuing and worried for their safety on a track where practice opportunities have been limited.
But Woodward explained that the lugers are now satisfied the 21-year-old from Georgia made a mistake during his run, and that was the primary cause of the crash rather than the speeds being reached on the track.
