Posted on 09/24/2004 10:44:37 PM PDT by nutmeg
Olympic case dropped against Hamilton; Still facing Vuelta sanctions
IOC medical chief blames lab error for 'inconclusive B-Sample'
By Charles Pelkey
news editor, VeloNews
This report filed September 23, 2004
Tyler Hamilton's Olympic gold medal may be safe after the International Olympic Committee dropped disciplinary proceedings against him, but the Phonak rider could still face a two-year ban from cycling based on evidence of blood doping at the Vuelta a España.
The IOC announced Thursday that it had dropped disciplinary proceedings against the Olympic time trial champion, begun after "an adverse analytical finding" on his A sample from the Athens Games, taken on August 19 in Athens.
Tests on the B sample, taken the same day, proved "non-conclusive" because testers inadvertently placed the vial in deep freeze, ruining its red blood cells, according to IOC medical chief Arne Ljungqvist.
In a conference call Thursday, Ljungqvist attributed the mishandling of the second sample to "human error" resulting from "the unusual workload caused by the Olympic Games" at the testing laboratory in Athens.
"It has nothing to do with the method itself," Ljungqvist added. "The fact that the analysis of the B sample was not conclusive does not challenge the accuracy of the analysis of the A sample."
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old Hamilton could still face disciplinary action from the UCI after a backup test apparently confirmed his initial positive test at the Vuelta.
Phonak officials announced Thursday that Hamilton's B sample supported his initial positive test for blood doping, although neither the UCI nor the World Anti-Doping Agency have confirmed this.
"Clearly positive Š" but negative
The blood sample taken from Hamilton in Athens was one of 385 whole blood samples tested for evidence of a homologous blood transfusion - the presence of blood from another person. According to Ljungqvist, Hamilton's was the only one that showed evidence of such blood doping.
"When we reviewed it, there were varying opinions," he said, noting laboratory officials in Athens only considered the sample to be "suspect."
The IOC subsequently formed an independent panel to review the test data from the first sample. The outside experts concluded the results to be more than just suspect, Ljungqvist said.
"The sample was deemed clearly positive," he said. "The expert panel concluded that this was clearly a positive."
Reviewers were also made aware that the B sample had inadvertently been frozen in violation of established laboratory protocols. Ljungqvist noted that urine and plasma B samples are routinely "deep frozen" at -20 degrees Centigrade, but whole blood samples "disintegrate at those temperatures" and should be refrigerated at temperatures above freezing.
"This is normal procedure for urine samples," Ljungqvist said. "It is normal for blood plasma, but should not be done with whole blood. We had hopes that there would be intact cells that could be tested, but that was not the case."
As a result, Ljungqvist noted, the IOC had no choice but to drop disciplinary procedures in the Hamilton case.
"Here we have a case where the A sample was deemed clearly positive..." Ljungqvist said, "but then we have the B analysis. The rules are clear; legally, such a case will be deemed negative because the A did not confirm the B."
Innocent or fortunate
Asked whether Hamilton was "targeted" for blood testing at the Vuelta, following the mishandling of the Athens sample, Ljungqvist declined to offer specifics.
'We do communicate with our member federations," he said. "The way in which we communicate, especially regarding a specific athlete, is not something that we discuss publicly."
Asked whether he considered Hamilton to be "innocent or fortunate," Ljungqvist declined to offer an opinion, noting that "according to the rules, this is a negative case."
"It's up to everyone to reach his own conclusions," he added.
ping!
They'll do anything to stop the blue train.
WOW. So this is what happened to all those lab techs that handled the OJ case?
Hamilton wasn't riding for the US postal team but for a rival team Phonak.
please stop pinging me.
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