A mere days before the U.S. women's national team departs for the Olympics, in comes a bit of bad news for one of the team's best players.
Starting goalkeeper Hope Solo received a public warning from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a prohibited subtance violation from June, and U.S. Soccer issued a statement regarding the incident on Monday.
"U.S. Soccer received notification from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that Hope Solo tested positive for a banned substance from an out-of competition urine sample she provided on June 15," read the statement. "After discussions with Hope, we fully support her clarification that the positive test for Canrenone was due to the use of a prescribed medication from a personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes and not related to performance enhancement in any way.
"We fully cooperated with USADA during the disciplinary process to ensure it could be resolved quickly. Hope has accepted the public warning for her rule violation.
U.S. Soccer, Hope and the rest of the Women's National Team staff and players are looking forward to continuing preparations for the 2012 Olympics in London."
The 30-year-old goalkeeper also issued a statement Monday that explained why she consumed the banned substance.
"I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic," read Solo's statement. "Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.
"As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with USADA to resolve this matter and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London."
According to the USADA, Canrenone is classified as a Specified Substance and that is why the presence of it an athlete's urine sample can result in a reduced sanction.
The U.S women's national team begin their Olympic campaign on July 25 in the Group G opener against France. They take on Colombia three days later and then close out group play on July 31 versus North Korea.
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What do you make of this development?
Share your thoughts below.
This is way more info than I wanted.
Don’t you normally get banned for this stuff? I for one am happy that she didn’t get banned, but surprised to here the rules are so lax. I remember Kolo Toure of Manchester City trying the same routine (whether he was telling the truth is hard to tell) but getting banned anyway.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Barnhardt get 1A playing minutes if it came to that
Good for Hope. Her PMS treatment info gets to be splashed all over the news. I’m sure it’s what she wanted.
HIPPA, what?
Was this a masking agent? If it was then I am glad she was banned. She knew this was a banned drug. No way she would have taken it if it was on the list.
Most importantly, what does CJ Sapong think of all this?
Did you read a thing?
EMABARRASSSSSSSING!
+1 this should not be public news!
He’s getting that medication right now.
Kolo Toure took a PMS med?
*HIPAA (sorry, I’m in health care admin)
Diet Pills
After being informed that I had breathed in oxygen it was later determined that I should not have breathed at all…..Therefore I am sadden to say that I must leave the team due to being a person and being alive.
When will it end?
She clearly wasn’t banned but was given a slap on the wrist by the US authorities. However, it is an “aldosterone antagonist,” which means it could be used both (a) to combat PMS aldosterone hormonal excess or (b) as a diuretic to mask aldosterone abuse, depending on what the truth is. A female tennis player last-named Nagle served a brief ban for canrenone “doping” in 2009, because she basically couldn’t explain how it showed up. The fact she was banned for a few months also says this is not a random, new thing, it’s been a known banned substance for a few years.
Read much? She released the info and wanted it “splashed all over the news” after testing positive for a banned drug.
but in Toure’s case, he’s a professional athlete. Dude works out everyday, he doesn’t need to be taking diet pills which enhance your metabolism
Thank you. My thoughts exactly.
talk about PMSing…
A 30 year old athlete trying to drop a few pounds before a major competition is not a surprise. I don’t think this is a big deal.
Hope is rolling Solo, she doesn’t give a dang what Sapong has to say…
Nope. It’s about context.
Remember the Mexican teams at both the Gold Cup and Copa American having multiple doping failures b/c of animal steroids. Any bans on that one? Nope–FIFA concluded it was due to contaminated beef in Mexico fed illegal steroids.
Yeah…way too much information. At least she will be able to play.
Is this cleared up….I didn’t read that. Why would any athletic not get every substanced cleared by the team/federation doctor prior to taking anything?? Just stupid given how many athletes have received bans for this sort of thing.
Yes. Completely cleared up. Hours ago. She was NEVER banned.
she looks like an alligator
I’d inject her.
She (1) was not banned, and (2) did not take a “masking agent.”
Try reading the article next time.
Exactly.
i hope this blows over… you wouldn’t want the team to lose Hope AMIRITE!?!
yes, women are scary!
Never heard about the Copa America one, do you have a link? Or are u bsing?
do a search. well known story.
why?
No, but it’d be a great headline:
“Hope-less US team heads to London”
Best post in weeks.
Well done.
I read somewhere that their periods attract bears. The bears can smell the menstruation.
+1
LOL!
Correct on (1), but (2) might be more open to question. The hormone she supposedly would be trying to surpress happens to be a steroid, which means though USADA is giving her the benefit of the doubt, it in theory could be either a natural hormone or injected steroid she was trying to surpress. So her PMS med could be another person’s masking agent. Only she and her MD would know for sure. They have banned at least one other pro athlete for this very ingredient.
Soccer is not (yet) a zero-tolerance sport.That means they let players off with a warning or a minor wrist-slap. A majority of the Mexican U-21 soccer team test positive for Clerbuterol and they were given a stiff wag of the finger and sent home to reflect on their sins. When Alberto Contador was found positive for the same drug in an amount that was so trivial that it was almost undetectable, he was stripped of his Tour de France title and has a two-year ban slapped on him. Both, the Mx. youth team and Cantadoe claimed it was from tainted meat( as the chemical is used to make cattle leaner) but cycling being a zero-tolerance sport, you are severely beaten and hung by your short and curlys, but soccer gives you a “tsk-tsk there-there” and send you on your way.This is why Lance Armstrong who has NEVER tested positive in 20 years of testing is being hounded by the USADA. They just can’t believe anyone is that good unless they are a drug cheat. If Hope Solo was a cyclists, she would be serving a two year ban and the US Women’s team would have to have forfeit their Second place in the WC. Fortunately there are saner heads in soccer.
Nice.
At least she (along with the rest of the team) wasn’t struck by lightning during a practice and had to undergo steroid treatment. Those poor North Koreans.
Your facts are all WRONG! Mexico had 5 players including Goalkeeper Ochoa BANNED by the Mexican Soccer Federation from further participation in the Gold Cup and were not allowed to play for six months after for eating meat tainted with Clambuterol. The Copa America incident was a completely separate incident with different players taken out of the roster because of violation of curfew!
hmmmm
The U22 Mexican squad that took part in Copa America never tested positive for any banned substances. More than half of that squad took part in the U20 WC and none of them ever tested positive for Clenbuterol.
Me thinks you don’t really know what you’re talking about.
CLAMbuterol? Isn’t that also known as a Chelada?
Women get out of everything by playing the PMS card, it’s like a Get Out of Jail free card.
Well played, Hope.
This drug is a masking agent. She’s a cheat and should be banned. If this was a male athlete he’d be banned already.
Masking agent. Ban her…..
Solo should be suspended for using this drug. It masks the use of steriods. DUH!!!
c’mon dude. she used the stuff to mask the steroids. stop being naieve.
this is clearly a double standard
its because athletes use the stuff to hide steroid use.
its a masking agent Kev. Female athletes used it for years and thats why its a banned substance.
How do you know?
You are correct it wasn’t the U22, it was the U-17:
link to espn.go.com
AND
even the Mexican Gold Cup team:
link to usatoday.com
None of the Mexican soccer players to the best of my knowledge were ever sanctioned.
So I was correct, but not on the age group.
Which proves my point that a zero-tolerance sport will severely sanction their athletes for even the smallest infractions and that Soccer is not yet at that point of a zero-tolerance sport.
It does not mean that soccer will not sanction PED performance enhancing drug) transgressors when caught, it means that saner heads prevail at FIFA and Concacaf and minor offenses are treated as such
The drug is a masking agent used to hide roid use. They let her slide.
she shouldve been banned because she used a masking agent
masking agent.
hope got busted but didnt get in trouble.
NICE!
If it was a male athlete he wouldn’t be taking menstrual medication….
Male athletes take other stuff to hide the roid use.
What if there is a legit reason for her taking the drug? What if her doctor had test results to back up the prescription? there is more to the story then we will get told because Solo still has the right to keep her medical records private. Now it is ‘possible’ that she was using it for purposes other then its intended manufacturing but there had to have been some sort of investigation. I doubt that the USADA would simply let her slide, this is the same agency going after Lance Armstrong right now.
ignorance! it is all in the article people. She is not getting banned. She’s not on steroids, or taking performance enhancing substances. Most sad is that her private life, and what she was taking meds for, had to be put out in public, it’s not our business.
So, the specific PMS drug given, as it would make sense, is a diruetic. How is that gonna help enhance the performance of a SOCCER player? It would merely dehydrate her and have her running to the bathroom. Perhaps this substance would raise some eyebrows in the wrestling world or in a sport like gymnastics; laughable in the sport of soccer. Pissing must be a real advantage upon the opponent! LOL
read the above article before you comment. PMS medication as rx by her doctor. Not diet pills.
you are incorrect, Can you not read the above article? she is not in trouble, she wasn’t intentionally doping (hardly) like some of the other scum you mention. She proved the source of the testing, through her primary care physician. Therefore, she is not in trouble. She did nothing wrong.
no thanks
exactly!
the truth is the truth; it was obviously followed up on and investigated, and it was rx for PMS by her doctor.
do you read?
no she didn’t. read above article; repeat if necessary
they aren’t in danger of doing so
If you aren’t a woman, which clearly you are not, you have no business spewing ignorance.
LMFAO!
it’s also a PMS drug, as mentioned in article above
read article above
read article above; rinse, repeat
thank you! simple as that!
IN SUMMARY : “NO DOPE IN HOPE”.