Poisoned: Wimbeldon Tennis Player

Sabra

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Police in London are investigating the case of a teenage tennis player who withdrew from her match at Wimbledon last month after falling ill, and they suspect she was poisoned -- possibly with rat urine....spent four days in intensive care in the hospital before being released...may have been poisoned by a crime betting syndicate. They are also investigating whether Taylor could have been poisoned by an opponent or person associated with an opponent.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ten...r-poisoned-at-wimbledon/ar-BBvuu8J?li=BBnba9I

Another article includes a picture of her in ICU (not graphic):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-player-poisoning-at-wimbledon-championships/
 
Police in London are investigating the case of a teenage tennis player who withdrew from her match at Wimbledon last month after falling ill, and they suspect she was poisoned -- possibly with rat urine....spent four days in intensive care in the hospital before being released...may have been poisoned by a crime betting syndicate. They are also investigating whether Taylor could have been poisoned by an opponent or person associated with an opponent.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ten...r-poisoned-at-wimbledon/ar-BBvuu8J?li=BBnba9I

Another article includes a picture of her in ICU (not graphic):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...-player-poisoning-at-wimbledon-championships/

Wow. I'll be quite interested to see how this investigation progresses.
 
Some behind the scenes treachery.

I will be interested to see how this investigation progresses too.

The poor girl, I hope she recovers fully and there is no long term damage. :notgood:
 
Why do the most non-violent sports turn the most violent? There was the stabbing of tennis player Monica Seles, the attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and now this. There are probably more incidents than these. :confused:
 
Sorry, but you can count me as skeptical on this one. When I first read the Telegraph article earlier today (I'm a tennis fan.) the headline naturally captured my interest. But I noticed that much of the article was driven by Ms Taylor's family. No one from the hospital was quoted. Sad looking photos of Gabrielle lying sick in the hospital were supplied by the family. The rationale given for why the family suspected it was intentional poisoning was that that particular bacterial poisoning was rare. While rare, that doesn't mean it was intentional.

From the Telegraph article:

Miss Taylor's mother said ...... “The bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Merton police are investigating an allegation of poisoning with intent to endanger life or cause GBH.

Subsequent to that article, I came across the following:

Medical experts say allegation that 18-year-old player was intentionally infected with leptospirosis is ‘far-fetched’

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/11/gabriella-taylor-tennis-player-highly-unlikely-to-have-been-poisoned?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_b-gdnnews#link_time=1470914059

.... it is more likely that contamination was through the environment rather than human means as this would require specialist kit and knowledge.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37048169?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


But of course the exciting headline of possible (likely!!) intentional poisoning is multiplying across the various news sources...without much critical sober thought.
 
Health officials say leptospirosis is uncommon in the U.K. There were 71 confirmed cases in England and Wales in 2015, according to Public Health England. The infection can be acquired by touching soil or water contaminated with the urine of infected animals, including cattle, pigs, dogs and particularly rats.

Read more at http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/a...vestigate-claim-wimbledon-player-was-poisoned
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As the article explains, it would have been extremely difficult for someone to isolate the bacteria and introduce them into Gabrielle's food, drink or environment. The article also explains there is a 5-14 day incubation period. I'm curious as to everywhere she'd been during that time frame and where she alone might have been exposed to the bacteria. Could others have been sickened also, but to a lesser degree? The bacteria normally produce milder symptoms.
 
Sorry, but you can count me as skeptical on this one. When I first read the Telegraph article earlier today (I'm a tennis fan.) the headline naturally captured my interest. But I noticed that much of the article was driven by Ms Taylor's family. No one from the hospital was quoted. Sad looking photos of Gabrielle lying sick in the hospital were supplied by the family. The rationale given for why the family suspected it was intentional poisoning was that that particular bacterial poisoning was rare. While rare, that doesn't mean it was intentional.

From the Telegraph article:





Subsequent to that article, I came across the following:



https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/11/gabriella-taylor-tennis-player-highly-unlikely-to-have-been-poisoned?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_b-gdnnews#link_time=1470914059



http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37048169?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


But of course the exciting headline of possible (likely!!) intentional poisoning is multiplying across the various news sources...without much critical sober thought.

I hope your right, but I think the accusations may have some teeth. Match fixing has been rumored for some time and even some big names admit to being offered money to lose a match. I'm a HUGE tennis fan and would like to see the sport remain clean and honest.

Most notably, Novak Djokovic revealed that, in 2007, he was approached and offered about $200,000 to lose a first-round match. He said that he didn't attend the tournament and never considered taking the offer. "For me, that's an act of unsportsmanship, a crime in sport honestly."

5. A gambling site suspended bets on a Aussie Open match

Suspicions have already cropped up at this year's Australian Open. A sports gambling site suspended betting on a relatively small-scale mixed doubles match after a large sum of money came in on the obscure match. Nearly all the bets came in for the pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Lukasz Kubot against Lara Arruabarrena and David Marrero, an indication that the match might be fixed. Hlavackova and Kubot said they were questioned by the TIU. All four players said the match was not fixed. Kubot said he didn't think players should be named without proof of match-fixing. "If you don't have 100 percent proof of the player, you should not mention the name," he said.

http://www.espn.com/tennis/aus16/story/_/id/14667591/match-fixing-tennis-world-six-things-need-know

If there is medical evidence (I doubt the hospital would speak to the press during an investigation.) I imagine Scotland yard will proceed with charges if the perpetrator can be identified. If not, perhaps just a case of sour grapes.
 
This reminded me of the Nancy Carridine case in ice skating Olympics when she was hurt. However, it was well known her strongest competitor did not like her. So when Nancy was hurt, the world was suspicious of who was behind it!

In this case, as far as I have read, there isn't a suspect or another player who had such strong feelings against Taylor.

"A spokesperson for Wimbledon was quoted as saying that the All England Lawn Tennis Club had not been approached about the investigation. “There is no record of Miss Taylor using her catering pass to eat on site at the championships in 2016,” they added".
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...riella-taylor-british-tennis-player-wimbledon

As a parent, your very successful talented tennis player child has made it this far in competition, then turns up with this rare illness, where would YOUR thoughts go? Who would be providing photos other than the family? I wouldn't allow media in, but I doubt they even knew about it if we are just hearing about it,

As in anything where there are stakes of some type involved, if there is substantial reason to question wrong doing, it must be investigated.

The good news is Taylor is recovering. :happydance:

My opinions only.
 
Long ago I worked with livestock in the US.

Always wear boots or shoes at the barn, even while you have an animal on the wash rack with water & soap suds all around. Leptospirosa can indeed live in the soil for long periods of time, waiting for exposed flesh to corkscrew into. The organism is a spirochite and will travel through your body towards the liver.

Nasty nasty stuff & good that the hospital identified it quickly!
 
TWIST

American Kayla Day, Gabriella Taylor's match opponent also fell ill, and call's Taylor's claims of poison ridiculous:

Her dad Andrew believes Gabriella infected Kayla during their match. He said: “They trade balls and they wipe their eyes.”
And mum Dana rubbished suggestions of foul play. She said: “It’s pretty ridiculous.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16022...ivals-at-wimbledon-also-fell-ill-after-match/

Looks like @Snoopster called it correctly. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Taylor family became embarrassed and let this matter drop, while hoping everyone forgets and that they didn't put a permanent dent in Gabriella's career.
 

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