It’s no secret, 11 fighters were caught on using enhancement drugs during the tests run at the Russian Championships. Why do sportsmen tend towards using controlled substances, why do they ignore the warnings and jump into the abyss that they might not get out of?

Ivan, as an RAA representative, could you please tell us something about the recent events?

Those actions are not only justified, they are indispensable. The fate of Russian armwrestling is at stake here. Unfortunately, not all contestants understand that by proving positive for controlled substances they hurt not only themselves, but also scores of coaches and other fighters; because of them the RAA might lose credibility. And so, Russia will introduce a zero tolerance policy, we can take no more risks!

This year drug control was introduced before the start of the championships. But experience shows that not everyone took that seriously. Who would some people decide to break the rules?

You should ask them. Personally I don’t understand why they would.

Among those “caught” were people no-one suspected of such foul-play. Why would they risk their whole career? Maybe the tests were wrong? There is no reasonable explanation for such madness.

The drug tests on the Russian Championships 2014 were run by an independent anti-drug “RUSADA” agency. As we all know, in 2008 RUSADA has been deemed by WADA as the National Anti-doping Agency and put in the anti-doping agencies register. There are none better than RUSADA in Russia. After the final verdict is reached, RAA will publish the list of all substances found.

Who’s paying for the tests?

Doping control is a national matter! All costs are covered by the Ministry of Sports. Also, the decision concerning the stripping of all titles is not taken by RAA or Alexander Filimonov, but by the Russian Federation Sports Minister. This is serious.

If a contestant doesn’t agree with sample A results, sample B can be taken at their own cost.

What drugs are the most common to come up in tests?

The most common ones are: Turinabol – last year’s hit, Stanozolol, Methandienone, Oxandrolone – these are the top ones.

Why do amateur sportsmen use controlled substances, when they know that tests are being run?

At this moment there is no real division between pros and amateurs in armwrestling. RAA’s mission is not to divide people into camps, we’re one big family. Before this year’s championships, Alexander Filimonov appealed to people who use drugs not to start in the tournament. There are many more events where they can compete without putting their and their friends’ career at risk. So why do they use doping anyway? It’s hard to say. Maybe it’s to win at all costs!

Some believe that without enhancement drugs armwrestling becomes boring, that fighters would get weaker and fights will be less spectacular. What is your opinion?

I disagree. There are many great sportsmen who pass the tests every year on European and World levels. Sasha Voronetsky, Khadzhimurat Zoloyev, Eugene Prudnyk, Ivan Matyushenko. Can you say that they are boring? No. This year during the Russian championships 36 fighters were tested, 11 have been “caught” so far. The rest has passed.

I’ve heard an opinion that the drug control has been introduced to get more funding from state. Is that true? How can we be sure that everybody is playing fair?

This is news to me. But to reiterate – drug control is a matter of state. The tests are run by a national agency, for state money. RAA is only acting as a “servant of the state” here. Please understand – all the procedures are run by the commissaries of the RUSAD! The role of RAA is to name the winners among those who passed the test, that’s all! All the rest is done by RUSAD – from analyses to final verdicts. If any suspicions of corruption are being cast, this is a case for investigation.

Artur Grigorian