Doping shakes Chilean rugby and basketball in their best moments: latest report confirms five new cases

The National Doping Control Commission updated the list of athletes suspended for positives, throwing several surprises, since basketball presents four players involved in adverse results, while rugby appears with one exponent. Cycling completes the list, with a pedalboard. In the case of the first two disciplines, the news comes right at their best sporting moment, with a gold in the South American Games, and an unprecedented World Cup classification, respectively.

in basketball, Ricardo Cárdenas, Sergio Chialva showed the presence of carboxy-THC, which is the metabolite of cannabis, a substance that the World Anti-Doping Agency no longer considers as a method to take advantage and that is why it reduced the punishments to a minimum. didn’t have the same luck Eduardo González, who was found to have furosemide, which is considered a masker by WADA, and risks a sanction of up to four years. While Ty Jones tested positive for methylphenidate, which is used to improve concentration and treat attention deficit disorder. Nevertheless, he did not have a prescription and could be sidelined for a minimum of two years.

For the president of the Basketball Federation, Iran Arcos, the situation is serious and he does not hide his concern. “We are very worried, we cannot let these things happen. Let’s review the processes. We want to hold more prevention talks and invite the team captains to talk about it. We are going to get together with the board of directors of the National League to reinforce procedures, work on education for all ages and work on actions aimed at prevention”he maintains.

In this sense, the helmsman insists on condemning these facts. “We don’t want basketball to be on these lists, especially when it’s in the best shape in a long time today. We leaders have to worry that it will not happen again, do prevention and internal controls. Education is fundamental”, he affirms.

In the sport of the oval there is anguish for the positives, something that did not happen several years ago, Cristián Rudloff, president of the National Rugby Sports Federation, is saddened by the events. In this case, the positive of Agustín Fernández for tamoxifen, a substance considered doping that is used in treatments against breast cancer and that is usually combined with anabolics to fraudulently improve sports performance. The control was carried out in La Pintana, in March, after of the historic triumph of Selknam over Jaguares XVfor the American Rugby Super League. The 22-year-old player is one of the projects of this sport and has already joined the Condors team.

While the other episode detected is the of Tomás Bertot, for a steroid and anabolic. Nevertheless, the Argentine player does not play in Chile and his presence in the country was due to his participation in the American Super League of Rugby (SLAR)wearing the colors of Pro coffee growers from Colombia. In this situation, World Rugby referred the case to the National Doping Control Commission.

“For us it has been very sad, but unfortunately it is part of the challenges to work that high performance, professionalism, and above all the desire for success brings. We take it very seriously and with commitment so that it never happens again, because our sport does not endorse this type of behavior under any scenario, but we must accompany and educate so that the opportunity for reintegration exists, “he says.

The biggest concern is that both athletes involved are young. “This is what worries us the most, because it is precisely in the smallest where we must put the greatest efforts in education, but it has been three years of pandemic that have made everything difficult “, recognize. And he adds: “The truth is that it is a shame, but today it is very difficult to detect in any sport if there are no regular controls, and information on doping is increasingly available to everyone on the internet.”

Doping undoubtedly appears as something new for an entity that is not used to these behaviors. “These are super ‘taboo’ topics, which for the same reason very few know how to deal with openly and that is when doors are left open that allow these things to damage what one most wants, but today we have to put the same energy that we have put to achieve all the dream results in continuing to protect our sport from everything bad”states, along with delivering a final thought: “Rugby has to grow in a sustainable and healthy way, which is the essence of its values, so that it reaches all corners of Chile, especially children., and serve as an agent of integration, teamwork and respect. Everything positive to contribute to our beloved Chile”.

Finally, cycling puts Alejandro Soto, silver medalist at the Valledupar Bolivarian Games, on this list. The pedaler tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a frequent substance in cycling doping. The athlete, who was previously monitored, received a four-year ban, which was reduced to three after an agreement with the doping authorities. His case is added to that of his colleague Claudio Delanoe, who has been suspended for several months for GW1516, heptaminol and cocaine metabolite.