2005-12-19Staff Report 2 WHILST I'm not the kind of outjie to dwell on things that are being said about me, I can just not resist a parting shot at the beleaguered President of Athletics Namibia Alpha Kangueehi for his outburst, attacking my personal integrity by implying that I'm having an axe to grind with him under the guise of journalism. I really don't appreciate the introduction of red herrings into genuine situations. The motor-mouth President of Athletics Namibia is the very same gentleman who did not even have a clue about the existence of former athletics star Daniel Haitembu, when informed that the 400-metre Namibian record holder was no more after a tragic domestic incident which ended his life. What really puzzles me, though not entirely, is that Kangueehi is being extremely selective in his response and also proved to be economic with the truth - something he has been associated with anyway, after all, is this not the same outjie who boastfully informed the nation on radio that Athletics Namibia was going to throw a big farewell bash for Frank Fredericks in the form of a Grand Prix Exhibition meet. The likes of Linford Christie (though banned for life), Michael Johnson, and several other former track heavyweights were paraded as those to be in attendance for this historic event - well, the nation is still waiting, Sir, and the said athletes including our own Frank are still anxiously waiting for the invitation. A final word before I rest my case, I must really give Alpha a pat on the back for his sharp memory with regard to the actual location of Kapena Rukero's career-threatening injury sustained in full view of fellow athletes. Please pardon my ignorance, but alas, what the brother fails to digest is that the injury was not sport-related since it was unchained from a fist fight with a colleague way off the track - unless Athletics Namibia has incorporated kick-boxing or onghandeka into its structures, which will not surprise me at all given this particular discipline's patchy way of going about its business. Its a great pity the fired-up athletics boss has chosen to drag innocent people into his self-declared dispute with the author by implicating his subjects while blaming the author of being unpatriotic when raising concerns over the ability of some of the chosen athletes for the prestigious Commonwealth Games in Australia. The announcement of Lucketz Swartbooi's alleged doping failure during the recently-concluded Soweto Marathon was uncalled for, and should have been treated on a different platform as the veteran road runner is yet to be informed officially about the consequences of having taken the banned substance Prednisone in the absence of an application for the Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE). Anyway, for any athlete to be shown the door after the usage of performance enhancing drugs - a second urine sample is a pre-requisite and if the results are still positive then the athlete would be hauled before a tribunal before judgement is passed unlike in Kangueehi's case, where poor Lucketz was summarily given the boot through the media, ag sies tog. Swartbooi has been running under the banner of the South African-based Harmony Club and those at the helm of Athletics Namibia knew very well about this scenario - but obviously, there were going to be some complications on the roadside since the lanky Swartbooi is not a nationalized citizen. However, Athletics South Africa cannot process or approve Swartbooi's application for the Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) in the absence of a recognized Medical and Doping Committee in Namibia, and the only body to constitute such a committee is the Namibia National Olympic Committee. In view of that, Swartbooi is technically not banned as Kangueehi claims, but just needs to complete the TUE under the jurisdiction of a recognized committee in his native country, a consequence local athletics bosses should have anticipated. For those in the dark, notably Athletics Namibia - a quick refresher course on the procedures of banned substances and TUE under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ÃÆ'Æ'ÀÃ...ÃÆ''šÃ‚º Where a Prohibited Substance is capable of being produced by the body naturally, a Sample will be deemed to contain such Prohibited Substance where the concentration of the Prohibited Substance or its metabolites or markers and or any other relevant ratio(s) in the Athlete's Sample so deviates from the range of values normally found in humans that is unlikely to be consistent with normal endogenous production. A Sample shall not be deemed to contain a Prohibited Substance in any such case where the Athlete proves by evidence that the concentration of the Prohibited Substance or its metabolites or markers and or the relevant ratio(s) in the Athlete's Sample is attributable to a physiological or pathological condition. In all cases, and at any concentration, the laboratory will report an Adverse Analytical Finding if, based on any reliable analytical method, it can show that the Prohibited Substance is of exogenous origin. If the laboratory result is not conclusive and no concentration as referred to in the above paragraph is found, the relevant Anti-Doping Organization shall conduct a further investigation if there are serious indications, such as comparison to reference steroid profiles, for a possible Use of a Prohibited Substance. If the laboratory has reported the presence of a T/E ratio greater than four (4) to one (1) in the urine, further investigation is obligatory in order to determine whether the ratio is due to a physiological or pathological condition, except if the laboratory reports an Adverse Analytical Finding based on any reliable analytical method, showing that the Prohibited Substance is of exogenous origin. In case of an investigation, it will include a review of any previous and or subsequent tests. If the previous tests are not available, the Athlete shall be tested unannounced at least three times within a three-month period, and should an Athlete fail to co-operate in the investigations, the Athlete's Sample shall be deemed to contain a Prohibited Substance. Heitara! Let me call it quits for now, let us wittie again next Friday, so until then it's ADIOS!!. 2005-12-19Staff Report 2
