In general, Olympic athletes testing positive for banned substances is not a new story. Olympic field hockey players testing positive for banned substances, though, is a new twist. Two members of the Spanish women's team tested positive during an Olympic qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan last month. Under the rules of FIH, field hockey's governing body, that would mean Spain, which beat the hosts in the final and qualified, would be barred from competing at the Olympics this summer. The Spanish team, however, claims that the tests were the final act in a series of actions designed to sabotage their chances at making it to Beijing.
The Spanish team complained to FIH about conditions in Baku upon their return. They felt the food and water they were given may have been tampered with and that something entered hotel rooms via the air conditioner and caused four players to collapse."My players haven't taken anything," secretary Jose Antonio Gil told The Associated Press. Our players are totally innocent. We are looking into whether the players were intoxicated or if there was a manipulation of the samples."
If Spain is expelled, the Azeri team would replace them in the draw which, at the very least, provides some motive for their alleged actions. Also providing a bit of credence is the fact that no field hockey player has ever tested positive for anything other than sturdy calves before last month.
