See ya' later, we luv ya', buh bye!
Posted on 02/21/2002 6:45:50 PM PST by ATOMIC_PUNK
The Russian's comments came at a news conference hours after one of the nation's top athletes, cross-country skier Larissa Lazutina, was disqualified from the women's 20-kilometer relay because of high levels of hemoglobin found in a pre-race blood test.
"If decisions are not made and issues we raised not resolved, the Russian team will not play hockey, will not run 30 kilometers, will look very negatively on other factors," Tyagachev said.
Tyagachev said there was a 24-hour window to address the situation, and that if Russia left Salt Lake City it probably would not compete in Athens in the next Summer Games.
"Once you leave, it is not easy to come back in," he said.
IOC officials did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
‘We Are Clean’
The Russian men's hockey team is scheduled to play the United States in the semifinals on Friday.
As for Russia's cross-country skier, Tyagachev said that while Lazutina's hemoglobin count was just above the legal limit, she was not guilty of doping.
"We are clean," he said. "We have nothing to hide."
A urine test will determine whether Lazutina's case will be considered a drug positive. Results were expected Friday; she was scheduled to compete in the 30-kilometer classical event Sunday.
Lazutina, who has won two silvers at these games to increase her career medal total to nine, last raced Feb. 15 in the 5-kilometer pursuit.
Her disqualification knocked four-time defending champion Russia out of today's relay event.
Lingering Bitterness Over Skating Flap
But Tyagachev was upset by more than the Lazutina case.
He made repeated references to the figure skating judging dispute, in which Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the pairs' competition but had to share the gold medal with Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
"This was a new decision that was practically unprecedented," he said. "We went along with the decision and tried to look at it objectively. … But we have only so much patience."
Tyagachev also referred to what he said were a high number of Russian athletes picked for drug tests and an unspecified ruling by a goal judge in ice hockey.
"I think we are seeing a witch hunt," he said.
Vitaly Smirnov, an IOC vice president from Russia, warned against taking his country's complaints too lightly.
"Without Russia, the Olympic Games will be lost," Smirnov said.
Tyagachev said he would meet with top officials of the International Ice Hockey Federation, the International Skating Union and the international ski federation FIS to discuss his complaints.
Can anyone tell me why it was an automatic disqualification?
Where patience is a virtue, irascibility is a vice standing in the wings. -- Aristotle's Ethics
You are onto something here. Russia threatens boycott. This will play well at home with so many Russian fans either unhappy or angry. They tend to see these incidents as a continuation of steady stream of Western slights on Russia. And if they can rally Russian hockey team to the point that "fight for mother Russia or die !" and go out and pummel American hockey team who keeps bringing up "1980's glory" forever, Russians will have enough psychological boost to offset humiliation of figure-skating voteswapping and this new blood doping scandal. If the Russian delegation does not manage this kind of comeback, many heads will roll when it goes back to Russia. Putin is not a forgiving guy, you know. If Russian hocky team can knock off the myth of "1980 miracle game", the Russian people may not crucify delegates.
Right now I'm interested in the NCAA tournament...one of the world's best sporting events. I've actually come to enjoy World Cup soccer, too. In both sports they put their hearts on the line.
They didn't catch Rudolph yet? Dang...
It no BS! Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood - it can be boosted by a drug called EPO - made by Amgen, it was one of the first biotech "miracle" drugs. It is a life saver if you suffer from anemia....which can be brought on by chemotherapy.
It's also evidently hot stuff if you want to break world records.....
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