Rio 2016 Olympics: Australian athletes complain over 6 am drug testing for being too early

Are members of the Australian delegation to the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic games perennial whiners or are they made of sterner stuff like track cyclist Mel Hoskins who despite her accident says she will compete? Before the start of the games, athletes complained of poor accommodations in Brazil, now they have a new complaint.

The Australian reports that they do not like to be wakened from their sleep at 6 am to undergo compulsory drug testing. The team management filed a complaint by swimmer Cameron McEvoy and the men’s hockey team of being roused by knocks on their room doors for the test.

Some of the athletes complain that they have only slept for three or four hours when the knocks wake them up. Kitty Chiller, chef de mission, clarifies the delegation supports the tests, but organisers should take into account the change in schedule for some sports.

“They want to be tested. They don’t mind being tested. Test them 100 times, test them 1000 times, but do it at a time that shows some respect for their competition schedule,” Chiller states. She adds drug testing authorities and the International Olympic Committee found the team’s complaint reasonable.

Throughout the games, 5,500 tests would be conducted on the 10,500 athletes in Rio, plus the top five athletes in every final and two more at random. The test samples are kept for 10 years and retested when new techniques become available.

Meanwhile, Australian hockey player Alan Zalweski was suspended for hitring in the head with his stick a Spanish player at a previous game. A tribunal hearing which reviewed video evidence of the match found the contact was accidental, but the court still banned him for one game, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

Although with Zalweski’s suspension Australia would have only 15 players for the 9:30 am game against Belgium, the Belgians also have one less player due to an injury sustained by star player Tom Boon. Although Zalweski apologised for the hit, Salvador Piera, the Spanish player, was photographer pointing to his cheekbone while the two players traded words during the game.

VIDEO: Highlights ǀ Hockey: Men’s Pool A Australia vs Spain ǀ Olympic Games ǀ Rio 2016 ǀ TV5

Source: Sports5