RICHTIG LADEN. SICHER LADEN. - Alpiq InTec

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014
S P ORTS
Russia is athletics’ Lance Armstrong case
NEW YORK: What should be a cherished,
career-best memory for Netherlands runner Yvonne Hak - winning a silver medal
at the 2010 European Championships now just feels “strange and frustrating.”
That’s because of the expose broadcast on German television this week that
appears to have blown a lid off systematic doping and corruption in Russian
sports. The ARD documentary, largely
based on testimony from Russian
whistleblowers and seemingly meticulously researched, included blurr y
images of a woman saying on hidden
camera that she takes the banned
steroid oxandrolone, that coaches “cover
up the tests” and “my husband has very
good contacts to the doping control laboratory.”
ARD identified the woman as reigning
Olympic 800-meter champion Maria
Savinova - the same runner who beat
Hak in 2010.
Yet, in a telephone interview, there is
barely a note of surprise in Hak’s soft and
even voice. Athletes long harbored misgivings about “shady” Russian competitors and their “really closed world,” she
said.
“We all knew it,” she said. “All athletes
talked about it.” If even half of what ARD
alleged is true, then this is a Lance
Armstrong moment, potentially makeor-break, for Russian sports and for the
wider sports world’s anti-doping system
built up over 15 years to try to keep it
clean and credible.
Just as rampant drug use and lying in
the Armstrong era destroyed the credibility of cycling, ARD’s claims of widespread doping in an array of Russian
sports, of anti-doping officials paid to
look the other way and of the extortion
of a three-time Chicago Marathon winner to hush up a positive test could poison everything the 2018 host of the football World Cup does in sport for years to
come. Russia’s previous successes,
including topping the medals tables at
the 2014 Winter Olympics it hosted in
Sochi, would be tarnished by association,
too. Even back in 2010, people involved
in her sport were telling Hak it was surely
only a matter of time before Russia
would be unmasked and justice done,
she recalled.
“Lots of people told me like: ‘Ah, you
got second behind the Russian girl, so,
of Russia to ARD’s accusations was discouraging. But the Russian Anti-Doping
Agency did then announce Friday the
launch of an investigation. A bit of
patience will provide a better yardstick
of whether that is a genuine search for
the truth or a whitewash, and whether
the World Anti-Doping Agency and the
governing body of athletics, the IAAF,
actually have leverage in Moscow.
“If these allegations are true and they
are left unanswered, so to speak, I would
say we are, as a sport, in danger of moral
bankruptcy,” Jakob Larsen, director general of Denmark’s athletics federation,
said in a phone interview.
“This is a defining moment.” It shouldn’t be forgotten that before this scandal,
outside experts who have been working
with Russia to improve its anti-doping
controls and agency, RUSADA, were saying it has made great strides. This followed a very dark period of one Russian
doping disgrace after another and a
tongue-lashing from Jacques Rogge,
then head of the International Olympic
Committee. Even now, former IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch maintains RUSADA “has made enormous
well, you’ll probably get the gold medal,
after all, in a while,” Hak said. “That is just
how people think about Russian athletics in general, I think.” To stop that, Russia
must do what the US Anti-Doping
Agency did with Armstrong: impress the
world with action. In nailing Armstrong
for what it called the “most sophisticated,
professionalized and successful doping
program that sport has ever seen,” USADA helped restore trust in a policing system which the cyclist, his accomplices
and teammates had made a mockery of.
The single-minded thoroughness of
USADA’s investigation and its life-time
ban from sports for Armstrong showed
that even someone who rubbed shoulders with ex-U.S. presidents isn’t too big
to fall. Likewise, Russia must now
demonstrate not only the will to punish
everyone exposed by ARD but also to
take a broom to the corruption and
opaque system they appear to have
been exploiting.
But these things take time. Arms will
need twisting. Whistleblowers will need
to be carefully questioned and, if necessary, protected. Some of the initial, skeptical and dismissive reaction coming out
progress.”
The Moscow anti-doping laboratory
“remains the weak link in the chain” and
“must be monitored very, very carefully
and be restructured,” he said in a telephone interview. But Schamasch expects
Russia to cooperate with IAAF and WADA
investigative efforts because its reputation is at stake.
“If I was in RUSADA’s shoes, I would
want the World Anti-Doping Agency to
be over here on a plane straight away,
and able to show them all the audit trails
that we have and all the scrutiny that we
have, to put these allegations to bed,”
Andy Parkinson, the chief executive of
UK Anti-Doping, the British agency, said
in a separate interview.
“It is going to take time,” he added.
For Hak, it’s too late. Even if investigators
confirm it is Savinova talking in the ARD
report about steroid use, Hak knows that
cannot change their race in 2010. The
photo Hak posted on Twitter this week
will always show her finishing second
behind the Russian, not winning gold.
“It’s about the moment, of course, and
they took that way from me,” she said. “I
cannot get it back.” —AP
Marseille reclaim top spot
PARIS: Marseille reclaimed top spot in Ligue
1 from Paris Saint-Germain with a hardearned 3-1 victory over Metz at the Stade
Velodrome on Sunday evening.
Andre Ayew, making his first appearance
in more than a month after injury, and Dimitri
Payet scored to secure the win after AndrePierre Gignac’s first-half opener had been
cancelled out by Florent Malouda. An eighth
consecutive home win for Marcelo Bielsa’s
side means they end the weekend one point
clear of defending champions PSG, who beat
Nantes 2-1 on Saturday.
Marseille have not lost at home to Metz
since 2004, when Franck Ribery was in the
away side, but they endured an uncomfortable first half, creating little and requiring
Steve Mandanda to make two fine saves from
Malouda. A Payet shot that flashed over on 34
minutes was the hosts’ first chance, and their
first attempt on target, two minutes prior to
the interval, brought the opening goal.
Payet whipped in a cross from the left for
the unmarked Gignac to head home his 12th
of the season, and 50th Ligue 1 goal for
Marseille, from close range.
Metz were back level just 18 seconds into
the second half as Juan Falcon teed up
Malouda, whose shot from the edge of the
area beat Mandanda thanks to a deflection
off Nicolas Nkoulou.
However, Marseille were not to be denied,
as Ayew marked his first appearance since
picking up an injury on international duty last
month by following up to score after Alaixys
Romao’s shot had hit the post on 59 minutes.
Gignac and Ayew both had chances to
score again but it was the in-form Payet who
wrapped up the points in injury time with a
cool finish after being set up by Rod Fanni.
“It was tough, honestly. But that shows we
have character,” Payet told Canal Plus. “We
need to improve. Things smiled for us tonight
but we could have a tricky time against other
teams if we play like that.”
LACAZETTE RESCUES LYON
Earlier, a stoppage-time penalty from
Ligue 1’s leading scorer Alexandre Lacazette
allowed Lyon to win 3-2 at Evian and move
back into third place.
Lyon twice trailed in Annecy to goals from
the veteran Cedric Barbosa, but Lacazette
equalised with nine minutes left before hammering home from the spot four minutes into
injury time. A second hard-earned win in the
space of 72 hours ensured that Hubert
Fournier’s side are now back on track after
their humbling 3-0 loss at bitter rivals SaintEtienne last weekend and allowed them to
climb back above Les Verts and Bordeaux,
who triumphed on Saturday.
Evian were dealt a blow before kick-off
when talented Danish winger Daniel Wass
was forced to withdraw from the side due to
illness. Wass had scored stunning free-kicks in
each of his side’s last two matches, but
Barbosa came into the starting XI and produced a memorable dead-ball strike of his
own. Now 38, Barbosa gave the hosts the lead
just before the half-hour mark with a curling
free-kick from 30 yards into the top left-hand
corner of the net.
And after Yassine Benzia, in his first start in
a year, tapped in when Lacazette’s free-kick
was blocked by goalkeeper Jesper Hansen,
Barbosa restored Evian’s lead seconds later by
finishing at the end of a quick counter-attack.
However, France international Lacazette
controlled a Nabil Fekir corner at the far post
and volleyed in to restore parity, and then
slammed home from the spot after a handball by substitute Adrien Thomasson to take
his tally for the season to 13. Northern rivals
Lens and Lille drew 1-1 at the Stade de France
while Guingamp won 3-2 at Reims. On
Saturday, PSG temporarily went top and
maintained their record as the only unbeaten
team left in Europe’s leading leagues this season by coming from behind to beat Nantes 21 at the Parc des Princes with Zlatan
Ibrahimovic scoring twice, including the winner from a ferocious free-kick. There were also
wins for Nice and Montpellier, while Dimitar
Berbatov scored twice as Monaco won 2-0 at
Toulouse on Friday. —AFP
FRANCE: Marseille’s French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (left) challenges for the ball with
Metz’s French defender Jeremy Choplin, during their League One soccer match. —AP
CARSON: Los Angeles Galaxy’s Robbie Keane (center) of Ireland, coach Bruce Arena and teammates celebrate after winning the MLS Cup championship soccer match against the New England Revolution. —AP
Galaxy win MLS Cup
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Galaxy gave
Landon Donovan a fairytale ending to a storied
career Sunday, beating the New England
Revolution 2-1 after extra time in the MLS Cup final.
Ireland international Robbie Keane scored the
winning goal in the 111th minute as the Galaxy
claimed a record fifth Major League Soccer title.
Donovan, the all-time leading scorer for both
the United States and in Major League Soccer,
announced he would retire at the end of the season in August-after he was left off Jurgen
Klinsmann’s World Cup squad.
Keane, the newly named Most Valuable Player
of the MLS regular season, endured a difficult afternoon at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles
suburb of Carson, but came through when it mattered the most. He slipped in behind the defensethanks to superb ball from Marcelo Sarvas-to slide
a shot into the bottom right corner. “It was a tough
game,” Keane said. “I think there was a lot of nerves
there, I think by both teams. “I think we didn’t play
as well as we know we can at home, but it doesn’t
really matter. At the end of the day, we won, and
we’re the champions again.” The Galaxy had seized
the lead in the 52nd minute as Gyasi Zardes got on
the end of a cross from Stefan Ishizaki and fired a
left-footed shot past New England keeper Bobby
Shuttleworth. The Revolution equalized in the 79th
as rookie substitute Patrick Mullins got free on the
left flank and got the ball to Chris Tierney, who
took one touch and slotted a shot past Galaxy
goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.
weren’t at our best today we know that. But in
those moments you have to find a way to stay in it.
“We stayed in it, we waited for the play that we
needed and we made the play.”
In becoming the first club to win five MLS Cup
titles, the Galaxy made the Revolution the first
team to lose five MLS Cup championship matches.
Three of those defeats came at the hands of the
Galaxy. Donovan became the first player to win six
MLS Cup titles-four with Los Angeles in 2005, 2011,
2012 and 2014 and two with San Jose in 2001 and
‘WE STAYED IN IT’
“A lot of credit to New England,” Donovan said.
“In a lot of ways they played better than we did
today. They were terrific.
“There’s games that you play during the year
where you’re not at your best,” he added. “We
2003. He ends his playing career with 57 international goals and 144 in MLS play. “I’m in a little bit
of a daze to be honest,” Donovan said of playing his
last game. “There is a lot going on. A lot of excitement, some sadness. There is uncertainty. And, just
pure joy for this team and for what we did.”
However, the 32-year-old Donovan said he had
no second thoughts. “As much excitement as there
is about the game, there is excitement that tomorrow I don’t have to train anymore,” he said. “It feels
good to go out like this.”—AFP
Vietnam defeat Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Vietnam have one foot in
the AFF Suzuki Cup final after goals by Vo Huy
Toan and Nguyen Van Quyet secured the 2008
champions a 2-1 away win over Malaysia in
the first leg of their semi-final on Sunday.
The home side were ahead with a Safiq
Rahim penalty but Huy Toan levelled in the
32nd minute before Van Quyet fired home the
winner on the hour to reward a fine performance at a rain-soaked Shah Alam Stadium.
With the away goals rule in effect, Malaysia
will need to score at least twice in the return
match in Hanoi on Thursday to advance to the
final with either the Philippines or Thailand,
who drew 0-0 in the first leg of their semi-final
in Manila on Saturday.
Malaysia had beaten Vietnam 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals in 2010 en route to
winning the title and a repeat of that result
looked to be on the cards when Safiq sent
goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh the wrong way
from the spot in the 14th minute after Nguyen
Huy Hung had handled in his box.
But the pace of the Vietnamese attack
caused problems all evening for a Malaysia
defence missing the suspended Shukor Adan,
and the visitors got back on level terms just
after the half-hour when Van Quyet’s low drive
was parried by Malaysia goalkeeper Khairul
Fahmi Che Mat to an unmarked Huy Toan,
who fired the ball home.
Vietnam continued to look dangerous on
the counter-attack in the second half and
they notched a crucial second goal in the
60th minute after Van Quyet received the ball
on the right of the Malaysian box from Mac
Hong Quan and cut inside defender Zubir
Azmi before bending the ball past Khairul
Fahmi. Vietnam nearly added a third when
Huy Tuan just failed to make contact with
Van Quyet’s cross, but Malaysia could have
levelled right at the end as substitute Indra
Putra Mahayuddin headed wide in stoppage
time. —AFP
Over 200 Alghanim Industries Employees in RUN Q8
KUWAIT: Alghanim Industries sponsored over 200
of its employees to run in RunQ8, the annual 10K
race which was held in Kuwait on 29 November to
raise money for the treatment of children at the
Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center
(CERC).
The sponsorship forms part of the company’s
commitment to supporting initiatives and programs which enhance the wellbeing of Kuwait’s
community.
The company, which paid the race entry fees
for any employee taking part in RunQ8, sponsored employees from its corporate headquarters
as well as from many of its core businesses such as
Alghanim Automotive, Alghanim Engineering,
Alghanim Motors, ATLAS, Enaya Insurance, GTRC,
KIMMCO, Kirby, Safat Home and X-cite by
Alghanim Electronics. During the awards ceremony, Alghanim Industries was recognized by the
race organizers as having the largest corporatesponsored team at the event.
George Lambros, Chief Human Resources
Officer, who participated in the event said: “RunQ8
is an important fund raiser for FSRI and Alghanim
Industries was proud to encourage its employees
to take part. The company is committed to supporting projects which contribute to the communal wellbeing of Kuwait and this event brings the
community together as well as providing additional resources to support the important work of
FSRI.” Organized by the Fawzia Sultan
Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI), the funds raised by
the RunQ8 10K race will be used to support FSRI’s
initiatives, including providing free or low-cost
rehabilitation services to vulnerable children.

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