Specialist Sportscare WA

24/09/2026

The Tara Moore case is another reminder of just how unforgiving elite sport's anti-doping framework can be.
One of the fundamental principles of anti-doping is clear: athletes are ultimately responsible for what enters their bodies.
That principle is essential. Without it, an effective anti-doping system would be extraordinarily difficult to administer.
But responsibility does not mean we should abandon empathy or common sense.
British tennis player Tara Moore tested positive for boldenone and nandrolone after competing in Bogotá in 2022. An independent tribunal subsequently accepted that contaminated meat was the source and found that she bore no fault or negligence.
The ITIA appealed that decision, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport reached a different conclusion. The majority of the CAS panel found that Moore had not established that the nandrolone concentration was consistent with contaminated meat consumption, resulting in a four-year period of ineligibility.
Moore subsequently pursued legal action against the WTA, arguing that players should have been warned about the recognised risk of meat contamination in Colombia. That action has now also been dismissed by a US federal court.
Whatever one's view of the legal decisions, the case raises an important question for athletes and those involved in their medical care:
How reasonably can an athlete protect themselves from a prohibited substance entering their body through ordinary food — particularly when competing internationally in a region where contamination is a recognised risk?
Athletes must remain vigilant about medications, supplements and everything they consume. Education and appropriate medical advice remain critical components of protecting an athlete's career.
Strict responsibility remains necessary in anti-doping. But it should not prevent us from recognising the potentially devastating consequences for an athlete who maintains that they never knowingly cheated.
There must always be room in sport for both accountability and compassion.
The integrity of sport matters enormously. So does fairness to the athlete.

British player Tara Moore's legal bid for £15m in damages over a doping case which led to her being banned for four years is dismissed.

22/09/2026

LOAD MONITORING IN SPORT — ARE WE MANAGING RISK, OR SIMPLY REDUCING LOAD?

GPS and workload data have become an important part of modern sport. High-speed running, accelerations, decelerations, match exposure and recovery measures can all provide valuable information.

But less load does not automatically mean less injury risk.

At Specialist Sportscare WA, we believe load monitoring needs to be interpreted in the context of the individual athlete. Previous injury, training history, strength, sleep, travel, illness, age, biomechanics, playing surface and recovery can all influence how an athlete responds to the same external workload.

Progressive and appropriate loading is an important part of developing tissue capacity and resilience. Reducing load too aggressively may sometimes be counterproductive.

Technology should inform that process, not replace clinical reasoning.

Sometimes the most appropriate way to manage load is to load appropriately.

08/06/2026

Sports cardiology has moved on.
The debate is no longer about whether an athlete has an ICD. Modern devices are highly reliable and complication rates are relatively low.
The focus today is on the underlying condition, individual risk assessment, and informed decision-making.
The biggest hurdle may not be medical — it may be public perception.

Christian Eriksen is "in good spirits" following his collapse against Ukraine and is expected to be discharged from hospital soon, says Denmark's national team doctor Morten Boesen.

21/05/2026

Interesting new research from Macao Polytechnic University challenges the long-standing belief that 150 minutes of weekly exercise is sufficient for meaningful cardiovascular protection.
Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the 2026 study tracked more than 17,000 middle-aged adults, examining cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 max) alongside major cardiovascular events including heart attacks, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.
The findings were striking:
• 150 minutes per week — the current WHO minimum guideline — appears to provide only modest protection, with an estimated 8–9% reduction in cardiovascular risk.
• Achieving a 20% reduction in risk required approximately 340–370 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise weekly.
• Optimal cardioprotection — defined as a 30% or greater reduction in cardiovascular risk — required 560–610 minutes per week, or roughly 1.5 hours daily.
The study reinforces an important distinction: minimum guidelines may represent a baseline for health, but not necessarily the threshold for optimal outcomes.
A timely reminder that consistency, volume, and long-term lifestyle habits still matter enormously when it comes to cardiovascular health.