martina hingis - hard done by or drugs cheat?

[algarve addick]

i go for the latter
why would you leave the sport with your reputation in tatters if you were 'clean?'
the history books will show she was a party animal who underachieved, due in part to her charlie snorting.

[mrmcfister]

She's a druggie..period...forget the crap protestations..she's been caught out as a smack head...she's a twat..nuff said..she's also a crap liar...

[Ace]

Yes, fantastic career early on and enjoyed the parties afterwards, bit of a slag considering all these blikes she has supposed to have 'dated'. Loved winning titles before she loved charlie more

[crofter]

Yes well we all have our opinions, but I would say that "drugs cheat" and snorting cocaine don't exactly go arm in arm ... what advantage exactly did she achieve via her cocaine use?
I would argue that reputed drug use/abuse has actually cost her many, many millions of dollars/pounds/euros of earnings and oppose to gaining an advantage over her opponent she has quite obviously harmed her game/advantage.
So to answer your question no I think she is neither a drugs cheat or hard done by, as she has admitted the offence ... but how many other "current" champions and heroes of Tennis/Sport do you reckon are guilty of far more serious advantageous offences than this??

[Deuce Bigolo]

Like diego maradonna at the 1994 world cup

cocaine is not performance enhancing,just the opposite

If martina had only been a model ala kate moss then this would be a good thing

Why not come clean and say I foolishly tried it once...end of story
Instead of the usual I'm pure as driven snow

[diplodocus]

underachieved?

5 grand slam singles and 9 doubles, for a player who was much smaller and had much less power in the womens 'power' era (williams, Graf, Davenport etc)

retired and came back to reach the top ten when the womens game has never been stronger

personally I think she made the absolute most of what she had

as for the drugs, i'm not sure, it's so easy to detect a trace of a drug now, it is possible that she flushed a bog and then put her hands to her mouth before washing. I don't think it's a question that will ever be answered unless we see the amounts of coke detected

[mrmcfister]

She has NOT admitted it...I am not sure she gets an advantage from it but its the usual bollocks cheats trip out when caught out that makes me laugh...perm any two from six

..it was for a cold
..my coach told me it would be OK
..the testers are wrong
..it was not my sample
..my sample was compromised..
..yea I tried to get an advantage and I have been caught out..sorry to the friends fans and family I have let down..

actully five!

[algarve addick]

....she hasn't admitted to any wrongdoing.

[bristolian]

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3167/cokeaj3.jpg
-look at her now


not sure if this is clickable

[Deuce Bigolo]

yes i tried to get an advantage

COCAINE is not performance enhancing

What are the effects of cocaine on performance?

The few studies that exist suggest that little to no performance gains are incurred from cocaine and its amphetamine-like properties. Cocaine is notable for distorting the user's perception of reality; for example, an athlete may perceive increased performance and decreased fatigue in the face of actual decreased performance in both strength and endurance activities. An increase in heat production combined with a decrease in heat loss associated with cocaine abuse impairs the body's ability to regulate its temperature during physical activity.

Which makes me wonder why they test for these drugs anyway

I bet she's not the only one running around at work with traces of cocaine in their system...ie legal professionals spring to mind