The doping scandal that hit Greece’s national weightlifting team after a surprise WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) checkup, in which eleven out of 14 members of the team were tested positive for banned substances, has assumed dramatic dimensions.

The Greece team is likely to be barred from the forthcoming European championship and the Beijing Olympic Games, as well. Greek weightlifting coach Christos Iakovou, who tendered in his resignation, was suspended.

In the meantime, Greece’s Sports Minister Giannis Ioannides demanded detailed figures on the recent tests the Greek weightlifters have undergone be released.

In two days’ time, a meeting will be held between Culture Minister Michael Liapis and the Federations of the Olympic Sports, including the Greek Olympic Committee. “We [Greece] are not interested in the number of medals we will win, as long as they are ’clean’,” Hellenic National Council of Combating Doping head Hara Spiliopoulou told NET radio.

The case should be thoroughly investigated, noted PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), while KKE (Greek Communist Party) stressed that the use of banned substances is a common secret. The majority of the people involved in sports are well aware of the doping problem, underlined SYN (Coalition of the Radical Left) head Alexis Tsipras. Finally, LAOS (Popular Orthodox Rally) President George Karatzaferis said that this was a coupe de grace to the reliability of the blood-thirsty professional sports.

Nutrition Supplements

3 out of 10 athletes are taking nutritional supplements on a regular basis. Half of those do not even know the name of the medical product or its side effects. According to research conducted during the first two months by Athens professors in a sample of 716 athletes around the country: 56% prefer products that contain proteins and amino acids, 35,6% carbohydrates and 29,7 electrolytes. 34% use them after their trainers’ suggestion, 23,4% consult their doctor, 15,5% consult their co athletes, 14,6% their nutritionist and 12,1% take them on their own. However, the usage of nutrition supplements may be dangerous as the substances of the product may not meet the superscription written on the box of the product. Researchers say that only with hard training an athlete can succeed without putting his health in danger with products of doubtful quality.

Source: news.ert.gr