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Saturday, February 04, 2006
Pages: Green tea? Goodbye gold, Marie
By John Pages
Matchpoint
Last October, Esther Marie Singson faced a dilemma. She was overweight. Not by much, only two kilos. But she was one of RP’s top taekwondo jins in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) Games and the maximum limit of the bantamweight division is 55 kilos. She weighed 57 kilos.
Less than two months were left before the Seag. Two kilos overweight. She had to act. Fast.
She drank green tea.
Millions worldwide drink green tea. In our household of three, my wife and I and our seven-year-old daughter Jana (hers the popular “C2”) drink green tea. It’s a health drink, we’re told, and will help you lose weight.
Esther Marie Singson drank green tea.
The brand was Kankunis.
In a month’s time, the magic worked. She lost just enough weight to make the cutoff. Thank you, Kankunis.
PODIUM FINISH. The SEA Games began. Singson kicked, blocked, screamed in every hit, raised her fists in the air after each round of victory and, in the end, stood in the middle podium to claim the ultimate prize. She was a celebrity, a heroine, a gold medalist, a bonus prize winner of P100,000, a tourist in Disneyland Hong Kong. Thank you, Kankunis.
In the University of Santo Tomas, where she is taking up Economics, she’s more popular than the Dean. She was the MVP of the UAAP Games. Her schoolmates shake her hand each minute. Her autograph is a prized possession. Thank you, Kankunis.
Until last week. When the shocking news broke out that Singson failed the mandatory drug test for all Seag gold medal winners. No way, she cried. I never took drugs. Never. Ever. No way.
Sadly, she was guilty.
Goodbye, gold. Goodbye, P100,000. Goodbye, heroine.
Hello, drug cheat.
Here’s what happened. Kankunis contains diuretics, a standard ingredient in herbal slimming teas so common that it’s even found in cranberry juice, caffeine and alcohol. Unfortunately, diuretics is included in the 2006 list of prohibited drugs by the World Anti-Doping Code. The reason: it serves as a masking agent for steroids.
NEGATIVE. “We were shocked,” said Mila Menicable, her godmother. “We know there’s no way she could have flunked the test because just before the SEA Games, all of them were tested and she came out negative. After the initial tests, they were all quartered, so how could she have tested positive all of a sudden?”
“It was an honest mistake on her part,” said Philippine Taekwondo Association president Robert Aventajado. “We have to stress the fact that diuretics do not in any way affect the athlete’s performance, and that she tested negative for steroids. We will try to appeal by explaining the circumstances of the presence of diuretics in Singson’s system. We stand by the innocence of our athlete. She did not take any drug that would have given her advantage in the sport she participated in.”
Singson’s case will be addressed later this month by the Southeast Asian Games Federation. But few athletes ever get absolved, even those with doctors’ prescriptions.
Here’s the truth: national athletes have been told to be careful about taking any drug, supplements or vitamins which may contain illegal substances. Singson never suspected Kankunis as such, and thus, never told anyone.
“I have no intention to cheat in the games,” Singson said. “Now, all my dreams, all my efforts, have vanished. I hope I am not judged as a cheat. I never took anything with the intention to get high or to cheat.”
Esther Marie Singson is no drug user. She’s clean. We know this. We believe this. Which makes this a sad, sad story. But somebody’s got to learn the lesson and, sadly, it has to be Esther Marie, only 18-years-old.
The lesson?
Follow instructions. Read the label. And beware the slimming tea...K?
(john@brightacademy.edu.ph)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 4, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
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