Raducan Loses Doping Case Appeal

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 28, 2000 -- Facing the world for the first timesince her numbing disappointment, angelic, 4-foot-10 AndreeaRaducan smiled and spoke loud and clear. In her heart, sheinsisted, she knows she did nothing wrong.

But she won’t get her gold medal back. All for a dose of coldmedicine.

“All I did was take an innocent pill,” Raducan said calmlyafter her fate was decided today. “I don’t understand whyeverything has turned out this way. But in my heart, I am atpeace.”

After two days of arguments and deliberation, the Court ofArbitration for Sport upheld the International Olympic Committee’sdecision to strip Raducan of the medal after she tested positivefor the banned stimulant, pseudoephedrine.

The stimulant is found in the over-the-counter cold remedy theteam doctor prescribed for Raducan, apparently unaware it couldcost the 16-year-old gymnast her medal. The Romanians argued thatRaducan shouldn’t be punished for the doctor’s mistake.

The three-person arbitration panel disagreed with that argument.It went along with the IOC’s wish to draw a clear line betweenwhat’s allowed and not allowed at these Olympics, even though itsmembers conceded Raducan did nothing sinister by taking the pills.

Court’s Ruling

Raducan was supposed to be the next Romanian hero, the first towin all-around gymnastic gold since Nadia Comaneci in a smallcountry where great Olympic moments are few and far between.

“It’s difficult for me to explain to her in my own languagethat you’re innocent, but you’re still not going to get themedal,” Comaneci said today, facing hundreds of camerasalongside Raducan.

The presence of a banned substance constitutes an offense“irrespective of whether or not the competitor intended to ingestthe prohibited substance,” the court ruled.

“A strict liability test must thus be applied, the consequencebeing automatic disqualification as a matter of law and in fairnessto other athletes,” it said.

“The panel is aware of the impact of its decision on a fine,young, elite athlete,” the court said. “It finds, in balancingthe interest of Miss Raducan with the commitment of the OlympicMovement to drug-free sport, the Anti-Doping Code must be enforcedwithout compromise.”

The team doctor has already been expelled from the Sydney Gamesand suspended through the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake and 2004Summer Games in Athens.

Tiriac: It Was a Mistake

Romanian Olympic Committee Ion Tiriac has gone along with theIOC’s discipline of Romanian athletes for drug-related issues inthese games. Yet this decision confounded him.

“I’m bitter. I’m disappointed,” Tiriac said. “I believe the IOC fights like hell against drugs and so do I. But sooner orlater, we’ve got to get our house in order. We have to beconsistent and human enough to understand what is a mistake.”

IOC members seemed conflicted over the decision they had torender — one that will tarnish these games, further sully agymnastics meet blasted for an improperly set vault during theall-around competition, and undoubtedly spark further protests inRomania.

Still, they were at the court to defend their decision Wednesdaywhen arbitrators began hearing Raducan’s case. And while theyexpressed regret, they wouldn’t back down when the arbitrationdecision was rendered.

“It was a very difficult decision to take for the IOC executiveboard,” IOC director-general Francois Carrard said. “But thisruling demonstrates that it had no option. This has to beunderstood within the context of the new, very strict provisionswhich are in force within the fight against doping.”

Medals Shift

With the decision made, Raducan’s Romanian teammate SimonaAmanar will get the gold medal. Another Romanian, Maria Olaru,moves from bronze to silver. Fourth-place finisher Liu Xuan ofChina gets the bronze.

“For me, this medal doesn’t mean anything,” Amanar said.“I’ll accept it because it belongs to Romania. But I know itbelongs to Andreea. She’s the Olympic champion.”

“I don’t understand why we didn’t win this case,” Olaru said. “I don’t understand why, always, the little people have to sufferfor the mistakes of the big people.”

Hoping to soothe the Raducan’s disappointment, Romanian PrimeMinister Mugur Isarescu promised Raducan the $30,000 prize moneyshe would have received from the Romanian Olympic Committee forwinning the gold.

Raducan will leave Sydney with a team gold, a silver medal forher performance on the vault and a lot of unanswered questions.

Her memories of a sparkling Olympics will always seem tainted -sort of like the result itself. But she’s not stopping here.

“I’m going to go ahead and prove to everyone that I can gohigher than I was in Sydnay and prove to those who say I made themistake that I’m the person I say I am,” she said.