Olympic shot put gold medallist Valerie Adams knows exactly what
she will say to rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk when they next meet -
absolutely nothing.
Adams, who finished second behind Belarusian Ostapchuk in the
Olympic competition on August 6, learned last night that her rival
had failed pre-event and post-competition drugs tests, and would be
stripped of her gold medal.
The Kiwi said she burst into tears when she found out that her
silver medal had turned to gold and she had defended the title she
won at Beijing in 2008.
But Adams told ONE News today that she had no sympathy for
Ostapchuk, who had shown remarkable improvement in recent
months.
Asked what she would say to Ostapchuk the next time she sees her,
Adams was adamant it would be "nothing".
"I don't want to waste any more of my energy or breath on her or
anybody that's involved with her.
"Now my energy will be put into me recovering from everything that
happened last week and also going forward into my next competitions
coming up.
"I have nothing to say to her. I say good riddance, because
everything is put in place to make the sport clean and now I can be
satisfied with the fact that women's shot put is even
cleaner."
Swiss coach Jean-Pierre Eggers backed up Adams' statements and the
suspicions of many close to the NZ Olympic team.
"It was a good thing that she was kept positive, because it was not
possible otherwise - [Ostapchuk's] performance was not credible,"
he told ONE News.
Adams was driving to Eggers' house when she got the call from NZ
Olympic Chef de Mission Dave Currie, informing her of the IOC
ruling and her elevation to the gold medal. She had to pull the car
over as she was overcome with tears.
"I had to question him and ask him if he was pulling my leg or
not," she says.
"I've had a very emotional last 10 days and now this news is
delivered to me - it's every emotional times for me."
Adams said her biggest regret is that she did not get to share her
gold medal celebration with family and friends after the
competition.
"My family was there and I wished I could share that moment with
them, but I did share the moment I did have with them," she
said.
"They were there when I needed them the most, when I cried the
most."
Ostapchuk maintains innocence
On the other side of the world, Ostapchuk maintains her innocence
and vows to fight against the decision.
"To be honest, I don't know all the details, because I just got
this information myself from the internet," she told local media in
Minsk.
"It's a complete shock to me, because I was tested on July 30
[before going to London] - it showed I was clean," she said, adding
that she would wait for the Belarusian delegation to return from
London before deciding what to do next.
"In total, I've been tested 16 times since April. You must be a
complete idiot to take doping just before the competition,
especially such an out-dated drug as a steroid, knowing you're
going to be tested not once, but probably several times."
Ostapchuk also accused Olympic organisers of prejudice against the
Belarusian athletes.
"You all know how we had been treated there, just ask Ivan
Tsikhan," she said, referring to the Belarusian hammer thrower, who
was prevented from competing in London following a request from the
sport's world governing body (IAAF).
"We must fight for our rights. If we remain silent and accept the
punishment, then they will continue to humiliate us."
Tsikhan won the bronze in Beijing four years ago, but was stripped
of the medal, after tests showed his testosterone levels were above
acceptable limits.
"I was closely watched by Olympic drug testers, especially after
what had happened to Tsikan.
"I was tested twice more in London, but I don't have any idea how
this thing ended up in my body. I'm going to fight this allegation,
because it can't be possible."
Tsikhan and team-mate Vadim Devyatovskiy, who won silver in Beijing
and also had his medal taken away, successfully appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2010 against their
sanctions.
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Related
What do you think of the drug test scandal that robbed
Valerie Adams of her moment of podium glory? What punishments
should be dished out to drug cheats? Add your comment below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentdeebee3 said on 2012-08-16 @ 09:38 NZDT: Report abusive post
Congrats Valerie. You have been gracious and mature with your comments since this debacle exploded. It is not Val's fault this has happened, yet this "Chuk" accuses Val of all sorts to try and justify her fall from grace. These athletes should have a lifetime ban. And the countries have a 10 year stand down if found to be involved in any way. Unfortunately this sort of thing taints all winners. You have to question every world record.. Remember Flo Jo ?
kiwi55 said on 2012-08-14 @ 20:00 NZDT: Report abusive post
Congratulations Valerie on getting the gold medal you deserve it and we are all proud of you and the way you have held your head up high despite what happened and we will look forward to when you come home and then we can truly celebrate your success Go Kiwi!
chrisd55 said on 2012-08-14 @ 19:44 NZDT: Report abusive post
Ban them permanently- history proves they can't be trusted. Feel very sorry for the 4th placegetter, now the Bronze medal winner, who missed completely on having her moment- at least Madam Adams had hers for a medal.
nippy said on 2012-08-14 @ 16:35 NZDT: Report abusive post
Well people must agree Ostapchuk does seem to have man like features