WinterSports2002.com, Tuesday, February 26, 2002

Sending cheaters a message

Deseret News editorial

Plaudits to the International Olympic Committee for showing by it actions as well as its words that it is serious about keeping the Olympic Games drug free.

In what is being called the biggest doping case in the history of the Winter Olympics, three cross-country skiers, including gold medalists Johann Muehlegg of Spain and Larissa Lazutina of Russia, were expelled from the Games Sunday.

Muehlegg and Lazutina were also stripped of gold medals they won Saturday. They and Lazutina's teammate, Olga Danilova, all tested positive for darepoetin, a blood-boosting drug that has been on the market for only five months.

Darepoetin is used to treat anemia. It increases the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscles, thereby enhancing performance in endurance events. It has been labeled the new drug of choice among world class cyclists because of the difficulty of detecting it and because it is 10 times as strong as EPO (erythropoietin), the drug at the center of the doping scandal at the 1998 Tour de France.

In the past, those who wished to cheat always seemed to be two to three steps ahead of those empowered to prevent cheating. The fact that officials developed a test to detect darepoetin so quickly is a testament to the commitment of the IOC to keep the Games free from drugs.

That effort needs to continue so that future scandals are prevented, and so that everyone gets the message. Athletes need to realize that if they take illegal performance-enhancing drugs, there is a good chance they'll be caught and eliminated from competition, a result that brings shame to themselves and their teams.

Taking drugs to enhance performance is not only cheating, it can lead to serious physical ailments and even death. For example, EPO was blamed for nearly two dozen deaths of amateur and professional riders. Because EPO thickens the blood and because cyclists have pulse rates half that of most other people, the hormone is believed to have caused heart attacks as the riders slept.

The IOC showed during the just-completed Games that it is taking all matters that corrode the integrity of sport seriously. It acted swiftly regarding the judging scandal at the pairs figure skating competition and equally so with the cross-country doping episode.

It now needs to keep up the good work.

© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company