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        Sharapova Has No Excuse for Failing Drug Test, US Olympians Say

   by Reuters

   U.S. Olympic athletes expressed little sympathy for tennis star Maria
   Sharapova's revelation that she failed a drug test, saying they wanted
   sporting officials to raise the pressure for clean play.

   Several athletes also expressed concern about reports that doping
   remains rampant in Russia and that lax compliance in other countries
   could mean the August 5-21 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be
   plagued by doping.

   The steady drip of doping news was a particular source of frustration
   since U.S. athletes face such a constant barrage of tests that some
   avoid taking over-the-counter cold medicine.

   "I don't even like to take multivitamins, I'm so nervous," said Kayla
   Harrison, 25, who won a gold medal in judo at the 2012 London Olympics
   and hopes to defend her title in Rio.

   "There are so many things on that list that you don't even think ...
   you can't take Benadryl in competition," Harrison said. "It scares the
   crap out of me because the last thing I want is a bad test to tarnish
   my chances, ruin my reputation. So for me it is never worth the risk."

   Sponsors cut ties

   The world's highest-paid female athlete, Sharapova on Tuesday was
   already feeling the consequences of testing positive for a drug that
   the World Anti-Doping Agency banned on January 1.

   Sponsors including Nike and Porsche moved quickly to sever ties with
   her. The test could also cost her a spot at Rio, though the head of the
   Russian Tennis Federation said she should be allowed to compete.

   Sharapova, 28, said her family doctor had been giving her the drug,
   mildronate, for a decade before WADA banned it.

   But athletes attending a U.S. Olympic Committee event in Beverly Hills,
   California, had no sympathy for Sharapova's failing to notice the new
   ban on the drug.

   "As an athlete it is your responsibility to always know what's being
   placed on the banned list, period," said Aries Merritt, 30, who won a
   gold medal in the hurdles in 2012 and is staging a remarkable comeback
   after undergoing a kidney transplant in September. "There is no
   excuse."

   ''A German TV documentary this weekend reported that Russian coaches
   who had previously been suspended for doping were still working in
   athletics, while others continued to provide banned substances to
   athletes.

   Russia banned

   Russia has been banned from international track and field in the wake
   of a report exposing widespread cheating and corruption, but officials
   there have been scrambling to prove they have cleaned up and should be
   allowed to compete in Rio.

   WADA in November accused Russia's anti-doping agency of conspiring with
   coaches and officials to cover up the use of banned substances by its
   athletes. No decision has been made on whether the Russian athletics
   team can compete in Rio.

   Russia's sports minister has dismissed the TV documentary, calling the
   reporting by ARD, a German consortium, misleading.

   The string of doping revelations and allegations left some U.S.
   athletes wondering whether all competition at the Rio Games can be
   clean.

   "I'm not completely confident," said Alysia Montano, who was fifth in
   the 800 meters at the 2012 Olympics, behind two Russian runners who
   anti-doping officials have since said should be sanctioned for using
   banned substances. "I'm still really wary."

   Montano, 29, said she was "flabbergasted" at news this week that Kenya,
   a running powerhouse whose athletes won 11 medals at the 2012 Games,
   did not possess a laboratory compliant with WADA standards where its
   athletes could be tested for use of banned performance-enhancing drugs.

   Eligibility on the line

   WADA and the International Olympic Committee have warned Kenya that if
   the country's anti-doping protocols are not in line with international
   standards by April, the country's athletics team may not be eligible
   for Rio.

   "As a clean athlete, it is very frustrating getting on the line and
   knowing this may not be a fair race," said U.S. sprinter Allyson Felix,
   a four-time Olympic gold medalist who is aiming for more medals in Rio.

   U.S. athletes also grumbled that they would like to see their
   international counterparts face the same level of discipline they do
   for doping violations.

   "If one of the U.S. Olympic athletes tests positive, then we're going
   to be banned for a few years," said swimmer Conor Dwyer, a gold
   medalist at London 2012. "That hasn't been the case with athletes that
   have failed tests in different countries."

   Ryan Lochte, the 11-time Olympic medalist swimmer, said he wasn't going
   to let the concerns distract him.

   "Test me as much as you want," Lochte said. "Just don't do it during
   swim practice."
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/sharapova-failed-drug-test-inexcusable-american-olympians/3226841.html