Belgium sends out tough message with Wickmayer ban
The Flemish Doping Tribunal’s decision to slap a one-year ban on rising tennis star Yanina Wickmayer for failing to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s controversial “whereabouts rule” should be appreciated even though she’s barely out of her teens and may not have been fully aware of the consequences of her indiscretion.
A semi-finalist at this year’s US Open, Wickmayer is considering an appeal against the ban imposed under WADA’s strict regulations, which, among other things, stipulate that athletes have to keep doping control authorities in their country informed about where they will be at a chosen hour each day for a three-month period.
Wickmayer’s stunning performance at the US Open drew parallels with her compatriots Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters with experts hailing her as the next big thing from Belgium, but the ban left her shattered and humiliated.
“One year is far too severe a sanction for someone who has not been found guilty of doping,” her coach Ana Devries said yesterday.
Wickmayer, the world number 18, immediately withdrew from a WTA tournament in Bali where she had made the quarterfinals, sending Kimiko Date-Krumm through to the last four stage.
An appeal is possible only at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, Wickmayer’s doctor Chris Goossens said that would be a slow and costly process.
Goossens said the suspension would stand during an appeal which meant Wickmayer would be out of competition for several months at least.
The Flemish Doping Tribunal took the decision with a freakish sense of timing, coming as it did a day after Andre Agassi made a fervent plea for compassion and three days before WADA completes its 10th year in existence.
Nevertheless, it’s a bold decision, especially if viewed against the backdrop of Agassi’s confession in his book that he took the recreational drug crystal meth and lied to the ATP that he didn’t do it intentionally.
The ATP and the US tennis authorities were equal partners in the crime by letting Agassi go scot-free because they thought any bad publicity for one of the leading stars of the game would have damaged the sport’s credibility.
The Belgian sports authorities have set a fine example for other nations to follow by pursuing a zero-tolerance policy on doping. Wickmayer only failed to comply with a WADA procedure, she didn’t actually test positive for any forbidden substance and yet the tribunal thought it fit to ban her and send out a powerful message to keep sports free of the scourge of drugs.
Wickmayer will now have to start all over again after the ban ends, not an easy task for any aspiring professional.
What remains to be seen is whether she has the willpower to pull through the ban period and come back with renewed focus and enthusiasm.
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