Time to tackle the mono question. Here's an article from the tennis press bemoaning the "problem" of mononucleosis in tennis. Here's another article about tennis and mono/glandular fever. Both fail to make any comparisons with other sports. So, I decided to do their work for them. Here's what 20 minutes on Google can get you regarding cyclists and glandular fever:
1. David Millar: 2002 mononucleosis. Fyi: Busted in 2004 for doping, admits using EPO in 2001 and 2003.
2. Michael Rasmussen: 2010 "glandular fever". Fyi: Suspended for missing doping tests in 2007. Investigated by Italian authorities in 2011.
3. Damiano Cunego: 2005 "glandular fever". Fyi: Questioned in 2011 by Italian authorities as part of a doping investigation, including EPO.
4. Bart Wellens: 2009 "glandular fever". Fyi: Investigated for doping in 2006, cleared in 2009; investigated again in 2012; and apparently cleared again.
5. Michael Rogers: 2007 & 2011
6. Philip Deignan: 2006
7. Glenn O'Shea: 2010
8. Dani King: 2010
9. Thorwald Veneberg: 2006
10. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke: 2005
11. Allan Davis: 2011
12. Cameron Wurf: 2009
Well, there it is. Oh, and there's also research showing that Epstein–Barr virus is present in higher levels in athletes. There's another study here. And here's a piece about infectious disease in athletes that states "Exercise improves immunity at moderate intensity but impairs immune function at extremes of duration and intensity." There's a similar article here.
If only the tennis media could put just a little effort into research...oh yeah...nevermind. After all, these are the same people who claim tennis anti-doping efforts are among the most stringent in sports.
haven't heard much here on Soderling. Is the consensus that he is on a silent suspension of some sort?
ReplyDeleteA Message From Robin Soderling
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CImCNqTT6k4
From a comment under the message: "this totaly explains why I havent seen him play in the Australian Open ..." No wonder SnR "totaly" got us with his Fool's Day joke.
DeleteGo check this one, taken from my mobile app pulse link.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17586597?ocid=us_news_syndication_pulse&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews
Thanks! Good story: "Dr Michael Ashenden accused the anti-doping movement of fostering a culture of "omerta""
DeleteThe only problem I can see here is that pretty much everyone in cycling seems to have been using EPO from the late/middle 90s onwards, so perhaps it was some other cause.
ReplyDeleteThen again, possibly that's been the case in tennis too.
Nice list here leaked in 2010, basically a suspiciousness rating based on blood passport changes:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ucis-suspicious-list-leaked-from-2010-tour-de-france
0 means not suspicious, 2-4 means suspicious, 6+ means "overwhelming evidence of doping". Contador was 5, Armstrong 4, Michael Rogers 7.
I agree. I'm not trying to link mono to EPO use. I'm just pointing out that mono exists in other sports in high numbers and that tennis is not unique with respect to mono outbreaks.
DeleteBut is tennis unique with respect to "silent" provisional suspensions? You know - the ones we never hear about?
DeleteAnd shouldn't players produce a sickness certificate if they go AWOL during compulsory tournaments?
You might want to add to that:
ReplyDeleteMick Rogers - longtime client of convicted doping doctor Michele Ferrari
Allan Davis - implicated in Operation Puerto.
The Ashenden story shows how a lot of cycling dope testing is nothing more than lip service. He got in trouble with the UCI because he gave evidence against Contador in his hearing and spoke about the plasticizers evidence that suggested Dertie had been blood transfusing.