Is Russia’s Sports Elite School “Sambo 70” Giving Drugs to Their Athletes?

The Horrifying Reality of the Russian Sports World’s Obsession with Winning

Winning in sports unites the people more than a hundred political slogans.

President Vladimir Putin once said these words to an Olympic athlete.

Young athletes are being sacrificed for the sake of Russia’s national prestige. A typical example is Kamila Valiyeva, 15, a female figure skater whose doping scandal rocked the silver plate at the Beijing Olympics. Sports journalist Kiyozumi Ninomiya tells us.

In addition to trimetazidine, a banned substance, two other drugs that improve athletic performance were detected in Waliyeva. Combined, they have a synergistic effect. I believe they took the drugs in accordance with the instructions of their coaches and doctors. However, according to Japanese doctors, trimetazidine is a “Showa-era drug” that is no longer used in Japan due to the development of newer, more effective drugs. The reason for using a drug that is so easily available is probably to get away with saying that it is for “family use.

Sambo 70, a training school for sports elites, is suspected of being a hotbed of organized doping. Sambo 70 is the alma mater of athletes such as Varyeva and Pyeongchang Olympics gold medalist Alina Zagitova (19). Itsuro Nakamura, a professor at Tsukuba University , said.

The school gathers 1,500 children from all over Russia, and they study and practice from 6:00 am to 11:00 am There, a program is set up for them to win medals at the age of 15 to 16. For example, in figure skating, even if they stop their physical growth, they are not allowed to put on as much muscle as possible, except for the muscles necessary for jumping.

As a result of strict diet restrictions, etc., the athlete becomes prone to injury. When they get injured, they are doused in doping with painkillers, steroids, and drugs to improve blood flow. rickety spines by the age of 16. “

In Russia, he says, there exists research that was created solely for the purpose of doping.

He said, “Research on’masking’ to remove traces of doping is being actively conducted, and I think doping concealment will become more sophisticated in the future. As long as there are politicians like Putin who use medals to enhance national prestige, the doping problem will never be solved.

Russia is guilty of the heinous crime of robbing innocent children of their future with impunity for the sake of the state.

From “Friday,” March 18, 2022 issue