Sailing on steroids?

June 23, 2008 - 8:20 AM by

So what does it mean for Israeli sports when Olympic sailor hopeful Udi Gal (don’t know if planned that, but ‘gal’ means wave in Hebrew) fails a drug test that could eliminate him and his partner, Gidi Kliger, from the Beijing Games? Does it mean that Israeli athletes have finally ‘arrived’, in the sense that they’re now no different from any other driven athletes who will take whatever route necessary to be called the best? Clearly, a very dubious honor.
The 29-year-old Gal took the drug test as part of a series of random drug tests given by the Anti-Doping Committee of Israel last month. He claims the test result came out positive because of an anti-balding medication he has been taking that contains Finasteride, which can mask anabolic steroids.
It’s an incredible shame as Gal and Kliger have been extremely successful in recent years, winning silver medals at the European Championships in 2001 and 2005 and bronze medals at the World Championships in the last three years. Just last week they won another bronze medal at the European Championships, their final competition ahead of the Olympics.

speedteam_udi-sailing.jpg

For the Israeli Olympic team, which had set itself the goal of sending a delegation of 38 to 40 athletes after the 2004 Athens Games, the loss of Gal and Kliger would hurt their chances of winning at least one medal. Gilad Lustig, the director of Israel’s Elite Sport Department which oversees the selection of Olympic athletes, had told China’s Xinhuanet that Israel “must claim” a medal in sailing with a possible second one in tennis or gymnastics.

As a fan of the Olympics and of my adopted country’s athletes, it’s been exciting to consider that Israeli Olympians can begin to pull in medals, perhaps bronzes and silvers and probably not in the Winter Olympics, but Olympic medals nonetheless. I don’t know if Gal took steriods as an anti-balding measure — I mean, he does have a receding hairline, but who doesn’t? — or to bulk up his body, but even though I may be naiive, I fervently hope that he didn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to his partner, Kliger, to the rest of his teammates, Israel’s Olympic committee and the rest of the country, which looks to these athletes and what they can accomplish as a symbol of what Israel can do, aside from the politics, security concerns and other difficult issues that are always on the table.

Tags: • Category: General, Sports 

Comments

5 Comments on Sailing on steroids?

  1. Ziv on Mon, Jun 23rd 2008 5:11 PM

    2. Is there a way for Gal to clear himself of these accusations in time for the Olympic Games?

  2. Jessica on Mon, Jun 23rd 2008 10:10 PM

    3. he’s not out for sure, but the committee has to review the case and decide.

  3. carol on Tue, Jun 24th 2008 3:41 PM

    4. Why can’t you write anything positive? What about the other 37 Olympic hopefuls. You clearly are not happy a person.

  4. Nicky on Wed, Jun 25th 2008 12:04 PM

    5. Here on Israelity we write about the reality of daily life in Israel.

    While our writers have many, many good things to say about life here, they also have criticism, as everyone does about the country they live in. It is entirely legitimate for them to express these feelings.

    This is not a negative story. It is a story about a real issue taking place in israeli society – an issue that concerns sports lovers all over the world.

  5. carol on Wed, Jun 25th 2008 5:20 PM

    6. We don’t need Israelity to cover a doping incident. The cynical free press has already covered it ad nausem. But there has been very little coverage of the other 37 athletes.
    Heftsiba has almost been discussed at length in the media.

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