Olympic Athlete allowed banned substance - Wins Bronze & Gold!

I just heard on CTV News that Marit Bjørgen of Norway has won a Gold medal (and bronze also)

www.ctvolympics.ca...=NOR/medals/index.html

She was allowed to take a banned substance for her asthma since December 2009.

I don't know how to link directly to sources but I found this on wikipedia:

Marit Bjørgen (born March 21, 1980 in Trondheim) is a cross country skier from Midtre Gauldal, Norway. She is a member of the Rognes IL ski club and is 5'6" (168 cm) tall, weighs 141 lb (64 kg), and is coached by Svein Tore Samdal. In December 2009 she was given permission to use an asthma medication that is on the doping list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Bjørgen has used asthma medication for several years.

Source: en.wikipedia.org...

How is it possible that a person can be ALLOWED to take a banned substance (albeit for asthma), and WIN a gold medal and Bronze? I'm no doctor, but in my gym days I knew guys who would take Ephedrine and other asthma products to increase the oxygen uptake to their lungs (bronchial dilator products), which in part increases oxygen to the body via the blood stream, allowing one to perform at higher levels.

Is there any ATS member who can explain why she was allowed to do this and what this banned substance is? I have many many about this!

Maybe I'm over analyzing, but to me it is very suspicious that she was allowed this banned substance in December 2009, only 2 months away from the games, and now she has 2 medals

Edit to Add: If she didn't have this new medication for asthma would she be able to compete with the old medication? She must have done so in the past, so why the new meds now from Dec 2009??

[edit on 19-2-2010 by TortoiseKweek]

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Could be that the doses was so small that they didn't see it as giving her an edge.

I'm sure they kept a close eye on the levels in her system.

As an Asthmatic - Salbutamol is one of my daily meds - its banned as an anabolic steriod. I think the ruling works on the basis that this is for a long standing illness - rather than as a performance enhancer.

Believe you me that without the drug any form of physical exercise for me - at least would be impossible - so i think its probably fair to say as a diagnosed asthmatic the drug did little to enhance but rather allow participation.

Taking the drug or any asthma drug in a healthy participant would be an unfair assist - but as she was a diagnosed suffer it probably only allowed participation - not enhancement.

reply to post by Silk


I thank you for your response, I'm merely trying to clarify and figure out how this was allowed. Do you know what the banned substance is that she was allowed to take?

I have always felt that the list....and still growing list....of Olympic banned substances is a bit too much. In this case I see no problem with it. So long as it's a well documented medical condition and this medication was the best choice to treat the athlete's condition based upon the Dr.'s medical opinion. I do not think it is the place of the Olympic Commission to "practice" medicine or dictate the method of recovery from illness.

For those interested, here is a link to a list of Olympic banned substances:

en.citizendium.org...

Originally posted by Aggie Man
I have always felt that the list....and still growing list....of Olympic banned substances is a bit too much. In this case I see no problem with it. So long as it's a well documented medical condition and this medication was the best choice to treat the athlete's condition based upon the Dr.'s medical opinion. I do not think it is the place of the Olympic Commission to "practice" medicine or dictate the method of recovery from illness.

For those interested, here is a link to a list of Olympic banned substances:

en.citizendium.org...

I still would like to know what the substance is that she was allowed to use. Then I can do my own research. Your link is welcome, but you give me no answers. I can give you many links too, but nobody has given me a link or name of the banned substance.

Well, I'm sure having Asthma is does more negative than any advantage those drugs could provide..........


???

There is a problem in that an athlete can easily get an asthma diagnosis from an unscrupulous doctor so they can take bronchial dilators, or get an anemia diagnosis so they can take EPO (drug that increases red blood cell count and gives athletes more stamina), or even get diagnosed with some hormone disorder and get to take testosterone.

Most of us will not compete in the Olympics or at some elite problem, but a doping problem many of us will have to deal with is ritalin doping. Ritalin is used to treat ADD. In a "normal" person, Ritalin can enable a person to focus and study for long hours. Many students I knew in college and law school got unscrupulous doctors to write them ritalin subscriptions so they could get an edge on studying. This does not seem fair.

Originally posted by TortoiseKweek
I still would like to know what the substance is that she was allowed to use. Then I can do my own research. Your link is welcome, but you give me no answers. I can give you many links too, but nobody has given me a link or name of the banned substance.

Most likely, you will not be able to obtain the name of the medication. That is privileged information between her, her doctor and the IOC.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


Its not a problem if the dosage does not provide an edge.

Small doses of steroids won't do anything, large doses does.

If she had high measurements in her system then that would set off red flags.

Originally posted by CanadianDream420
Well, I'm sure having Asthma is does more negative than any advantage those drugs could provide..........


???

Ok, before I get nailed by the mods - I'm not promoting drugs or any other substances here on ATS - so lets clear that first.

CD420 - Have you EVER ingested Ephedrine Hydrochloride in the pure crystal form? I had a training partner at gym who had asthma, and he took it. The guy wanted to throw the pump away because it gave him a breathing capacity he had never felt before. Yes, it increased his heart rate. But the guy felt like a new person.

I don't encourage ANYBODY to take drugs in any form, I'm against it completely!!

I just want to know what it is that was allowed, and why I don't seem to be able to find it??

Edit to add: CD420 - You are on my friends list - you seem to be a very leveled person, so I hope you don't take offense

[edit on 19-2-2010 by TortoiseKweek]

reply to post by Berserker01


You are confusing bronchial dilators with anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids enable you to get stronger because they reduce the time your body needs to recover between workouts. Bronchial dilators open up the airways so you can take in more air with each breath.

She probably has enough bronchial dilator in her system to open up her airways. I do not know whether her asthma diagnosis is legitimate, and even if it is, the doctors could give her a dose that is still large enough to give her an edge without being "off the charts."

Ok, I can't answer as to what the substance is...but here is the why:

Exercise-induced asthma is surprisingly common among people who work out in cold climates.

half of cross-country skiers and one-quarter of aspiring winter Olympians in general have exercise-induced asthma, according to a 2000 study of 170 athletes conducted by the United States Olympic Committee.

The article also implies that the substance is beta2-agonists

SOURCE: www.cnn.com...

From the website I referenced earlier RE: banned substances:

Beta-2 agonists

All beta-2 agonists and their D- and L- isomers, are banned. However, formoterol, salbutamol, salmeterol and terbutaline may be used with a "therapeutic use exemption", only in the inhaled form.

[edit on 19-2-2010 by Aggie Man]

Originally posted by CanadianDream420
Well, I'm sure having Asthma is does more negative than any advantage those drugs could provide..........


???

Sort of half true - I had a very hard fall in Coucheval in 1987 that could have ended my skiing for good - but I was back up and doing blacks in a matter of days - I believe to the fact I had Ventolin (Salbtamol) and some pretty good - and very strong anabolic tablets for my asthma.

The drugs are incredible when it comes to recovery - but im not sure they have ever aided me competitively

What should also be noted (and personal experience here) Asthmatics work well at altitude - I think we are better able to get the oxygen in an oxygen poor environment - because we are taught to breathe in a different way - only anactodal - but i climb and ski and regularly have a better experience than my non asthmatic pals.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


You beat me to the punch I knew a doctor in Johannesburg who faked results and tests umpteen times for athletes.

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Churlish I know but I have to ask

Would you be so bothered if this was a Canadian athlete?

Originally posted by Silk
reply to post by TortoiseKweek

 

Churlish I know but I have to ask

Would you be so bothered if this was a Canadian athlete?

Yes Silk, I would be! I believe that we should compete on a fair basis. If you have asthma and can't compete on this level, then why should you be allowed to do so using a substance, that nobody knows about?? Isn't that cloak and daggers?

BTW Silk - I'm not Canadian, I'm South African. And here's a little info for you - at 16 yrs old I decimated 147 schools in the Transvaal province (those days). I went on to the be 1 of the elite in South African Bisley tournaments. I received my South African colours in 1994.

That was hard work, and Many Many hours! Maybe now YOU can understand why this bugs me?



[edit on 19-2-2010 by TortoiseKweek]

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
reply to post by Berserker01

 

You are confusing bronchial dilators with anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids enable you to get stronger because they reduce the time your body needs to recover between workouts. Bronchial dilators open up the airways so you can take in more air with each breath.

She probably has enough bronchial dilator in her system to open up her airways. I do not know whether her asthma diagnosis is legitimate, and even if it is, the doctors could give her a dose that is still large enough to give her an edge without being "off the charts."

I wasn't confused at all.

I was using steroids as an example.

If she had a dose large enough then they would be able to tell. Nothing has to be off the charts for them to detect it. Athletes who have to take banned substances are told they can allow a certain leeway. If they pass that point then they get into trouble.

Apparently she didn't pass that point. But what do I know? I cant even list an example without someone screwing it up and thinking I thought she was using steroids.