Doping in triathlon

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As in all sports, in the history of the sport of triathlon there have always been suspicions as well as proven cases of ingestion of illegal substances or the use of illegal methods to improve or maintain performance. In particular since the 2000s and around the doping scandal Fuentes in cycling , systematic controls in triathlon have increased considerably. However, the extent of doping in triathlon was always considered to be inconsistent with the z. B. viewed comparable in cycling: Triathlon is also characterized by individualists in the professional area - compared to cycling with its professional team structures. In addition, the income of professional triathletes is far below that of professional athletes in other sports.

Definition

The Anti-Doping Code of the German Triathlon Union (DTU) defines doping as

  • the presence of a prohibited substance, its metabolites or markers in the sample
  • attempted or made use of a prohibited substance or method (e.g. blood doping )
  • bypassing the sampling or refusing or failing to undergo sampling
  • three missed checks and / or failure to report within 12 months
  • attempted or performed improper influence on any part of the doping control process (e.g. impairing the sampling staff, providing false information or intimidating potential witnesses)
  • Possession of a Prohibited Substance or Method
  • attempted or successful placing on the market of a prohibited substance or method
  • attempted or performed administration of prohibited substances or methods in or out of competition
  • Assisting, soliciting, aiding and abetting , inciting , covering up, or any other willful involvement in connection with an attempted or attempted anti-doping rule violation
  • Dealing in a professional or sporting function with a blocked athlete supervisor (also through straw men or middlemen )

Reporting requirement

The testing pool are required to team athletes in addition triathletes may be applying for a passport elite member of the "special squad competition testing" (ST-squad). Since 2009, members of the test pool have been obliged to give quarterly advance notice of their whereabouts, including postal address and telephone number, as well as a time slot of at least 60 minutes in which they can be reached there. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) uses the internet-based database ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System) to report and manage the athletes' whereabouts information .

The members of the test pool are divided up from the national umbrella organizations (e.g. DTU) to the national doping agencies into the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) with the best athletes who receive the most frequent training controls, the National Test Pool (NTP) and the so-called General Test pool (ATP) reported. For stays abroad such as B. Training camps, the national doping agency commissions the country in question to carry out the tests.

Controls

In 2014, the National Anti-Doping Agency Germany (NADA) carried out a total of 621 training controls on triathletes, including 449 urine and 172 blood samples. In addition, 203 competition controls (198 urine and 5 blood tests) were carried out. Two breaches of the reporting obligation were found. An attempted use of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method was found in two training and two competition controls.

In 2004, NADA carried out 101 training and 80 competition controls with a positive test ( testosterone ). In 21 of the training controls, tests were carried out for Epo in the urine.

For comparison: In 2004, 88 training controls were carried out on footballers from clubs of the German Football Association , which has a total of around 7 million members, 656 in 2014. In 2013, the German Athletics Association was almost sixteen times higher Number of athletes is the only German sports association in whose area more doping controls were carried out than in triathlon.

History of doping in triathlon

One of the first spectacular doping cases - even before the founding of a world association - was the positive test by Scott Molina in 1988 at the Longue Distance de Nice triathlon for nandrolone . The later counter-analysis was also positive. Molina then lost Nike as his main sponsor and went to court to prove his innocence, a lawsuit costing him around $ 60,000. The French federation FFTRI banned Molina for one year, the American federation USA Triathlon , however, refrained from a ban due to the procedures of the tests, so that Molina could compete and win the Ironman Hawaii four weeks later . Two years later, doping tests were carried out for the first time at Ironman Hawaii in 1990.

In 1998 Olivier Bernhard , whose collaboration with Michele Ferrari was known, was banned for one year after a positive test for nandrolone at Powerman Zofingen . Months later, after evaluating over 100 urine samples, an acquittal was made: The small amount of nandrolone does not necessarily indicate the ingestion of a prohibited substance. In the same year there was a positive control of fifth-placed Spencer Smith for nandrolone at the Ironman Hawaii . The International Court of Justice confirmed the presence of the substance 17 months later, but saw the reliability of the test questioned due to a calculation error, so that Smith was acquitted.

When the tightening of doping controls was announced in October 2000 a few days before the Ironman Hawaii , the departure of last year's winner Luc Van Lierde caused a sensation the day before the competition.

In the same year, triathlon was part of the Olympic Games program for the first time . However, the World Triathlon Union (ITU) was criticized for its lax control mechanisms: only US $ 2,000 annually were earmarked for doping controls, an amount that was enough to finance the control of a dozen urine samples.

In 2002, the ITU created a set of anti-doping regulations and transferred the controls to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

In 2002, the reigning Canadian runner-up in the triathlon, Kelly Guest, was revoked a few days before the start of the Commonwealth Games 2002 because of a positive test for nandrolone. After testing the B-sample, a two-year ban followed.

In 2004 a study at the German Sport University in Cologne showed that positive doping cases with the metabolite norandrosterone can be attributed to contaminated food supplements .

After the Ironman Germany 2004 in Frankfurt, Katja Schumacher was banned from the disciplinary committee of the German Triathlon Union (DTU) for one year. In her fight for the positive A and B samples, Katja Schumacher reaffirmed her position that she had never ingested unauthorized means to increase performance. Due to the ambiguity of this case, the ban was lifted after 10 months and the Disciplinary Commission decided that it should not be called a "ban" because of the ambiguity of the case.

The most spectacular doping case in triathlon took place on October 16, 2004: Nina Kraft was the first German woman to cross the finish line of the Ironman Hawaii for the first time. A few weeks later, however, Nina Kraft confessed to epo-doping .
A wave of outrage followed, culminating in a death threat. The athlete was at the low point of her sports career and had to seek psychiatric therapy. She did not reveal her EPO source to the public and was banned from all competitions for two years on December 13, 2004 by the DTU's Anti-Doping Commission. The association court of the DTU later halved the ban to 12 months for formal legal reasons, since the regulations on which the ban was based had not yet been entered in the association register at the time of the doping. A few months later, in spring 2005, the 2000 Olympic champion, Brigitte McMahon from Switzerland, tested positive for EPO and was banned for two years.

In the summer of 2005, the organizer WTC , which is now part of the Chinese Dalian Wanda Group , signed the Wada Code and announced the introduction of a doping control system for the professional triathletes competing under its Ironman brand for the next two years .

On May 22nd, 2006, during a training control, Jürgen Zäck found an increased concentration of the metabolite etiocholanolone . Zäck, who announced his retirement after the Ironman Germany, which took place a few weeks later, did not open the B sample . He was suspended for two years for doping .

In August 2006, after winning the Austria Triathlon , Georg Swoboda was positively tested for the banned anabolic steroid mesterolone during a doping control and his title of national champion was revoked. The Austrian Triathlon Association (ÖTRV) imposed a two-year ban.

In 2007 the organizer of the Ironman Germany advertised with its “iron transparency” project. One month before the race, the organizer Xdream GmbH demanded so-called "affidavits" from the professional athletes who wanted to start at its event. This included the confirmation of the athlete not to use doping or to have ever done so.
One of the athletes was Kai Hundertmarck , who started as a professional cyclist in the doping-contaminated Telekom Team before starting his triathlon career . This was followed by a media-effective dispute between the athlete and the organizer, in which the athlete made the affidavit, but then withdrew his acceptance of the start with a reference to the incompatibility regarding sponsorship agreements. The organizer then announced that Hundertmarck was no longer allowed to participate in his events for life.

Because of a “suspicious finding that suggests manipulation” in a voluntary blood sample given by Lothar Leder immediately before the Ironman Frankfurt in June 2007 , the organizer went public a few days after the competition and terminated his leather contracts. Leder resisted the suspicion of manipulation vehemently and suspected special training under artificial mountain air on the bicycle ergometer and the use of a special sleeping tent as a possible cause of the blood values. NADA distanced itself from the organizer, who confirmed that he knew that the investigation method used was not recognized and offered no possibility of exploitation under sports law. The German Triathlon Union (DTU) started investigations, but expressly did not issue a start ban. Leder himself published the values ​​in question and put them up for discussion: Hemoglobin : 17.0 and 17.2 g / dl, hematocrit : 49.5 and 49.6%, reticulocytes : 0.31 and 0.25%, stimulation index / Off-Score values: 136.59 and 142. With an injunction, he forbade the organizer to make allegations that put leather in connection with doping. In April 2008, the DTU announced that "the use of prohibited substances or the use of prohibited measures" could not be proven and discontinued the proceedings. Lothar Leder then sued the organizer for damages.

In July 2007 the Dresdner Kleinwort Triathlon Team was founded around Normann Stadler , which in 2009 joined the Commerzbank Triathlon Team with u. a. Timo Bracht , Markus Fachbach , Jan Raphael , Marino Vanhoenacker and Maik Twelsiek passed and committed to regular doping controls. Three years after the end of the sponsorship agreement with Commerzbank, follow-up examinations by NADA on the frozen doping samples revealed that none of the athletes concerned were suspected of doping.

During a doping control during a training phase on August 24, 2007, Wang Hongni was found to have misused testosterone . The world association banned the athlete, who was considered a gold hope for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, for two years.

During a training control on March 22, 2008, the Austrian Lisa Hütthaler tested positive for the blood doping hormone and was banned for two years by the legal commission of the National Anti-Doping Agency Austria (NADA) in October 2008 because of EPO doping . The ban was reduced to 18 months by NADA on April 6, 2009 due to her extensive confession.
In a courier interview in March 2009, she was the first top athlete to reveal the names of the people behind her and details of her doping allegations. She named the pediatric cancer doctor Andreas Zoubek and the sports manager Stefan Matschiner (formerly also a consultant to Michael Rasmussen and Bernhard Kohl ) as doping suppliers and administrators. Both denied all allegations. Hütthaler announced that it would support NADA in the future. The following day, her former partner and supervisor - the cyclist and triathlete Michael Dimmel - underlined and confirmed her statements. At the same time it became known that the public prosecutor's office was investigating her for attempted abuse of office. Hütthaler is said to have tried to get an employee in a laboratory in Seibersdorf, who was supposed to analyze her B sample, to manipulate it with 20,000 euros. In a conversation with Der Spiegel published on April 27, 2009, she even spoke of 50,000 euros. On June 26, 2009, she was sentenced to three months' conditional imprisonment for bribery.

In the ongoing doping process against Bernhard Kohl , the latter stated that Hannes Hempel had received the Epo drug CERA . Further gave Lisa Hütthaler in court, Hannes Hempel would have advised her to bribe a laboratory worker in Seibersdorf. The criminal proceedings against Hempel were discontinued by the public prosecutor's office and on July 29, 2009 NADA announced that doping proceedings had been initiated against Hannes Hempel. On June 15, 2010, Hannes Hempel was banned from NADA for four years with retroactive effect from May 2008. Hempel announced that he would appeal against the lock. The lock was shortened by four months on January 10, 2012, after Hempel cooperated with the authorities. Michael Weiß was also given a two-year ban in connection with Kohl's confessions.
On April 25, 2013 it was announced that Hannes Hempel had tested positive for testosterone during a training check on March 8. Subsequently, he decided not to open the B sample and declared his retirement from professional sport. He was then banned for life in October.

In January 2017, the American professional triathletes Beth Gerdes and Lauren Barnett independently declared that they had tested positive for the selective androgen receptor modulator "Ostarine" in doping tests .

Amateur doping

At the 2007 World Cup, organized as part of the Hamburg City Man , doping controls were also carried out for amateurs for the first time .

2013 published Mainz University and the University of Tübingen the result of a study of 3000 anonymous survey participants from the Chinese Dalian Wanda Group belonging to WTC in Germany organized triathlons. The proportion of athletes who used illegal and prohibited doping substances in the twelve months prior to the survey was estimated at 13.0%. The spread of brain doping , i. H. Consumption of illegal substances and drugs to improve mental performance, such as illegal amphetamines , Modafinil or Ritalin , was estimated at 15.1%.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cycling versus triathlon: cultural disconnect . Archived from the original on February 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ DTU Anti Doping Code . German Triathlon Union . Archived from the original on February 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ Elitepass application 2016 . In: German Triathlon Union .
  4. ^ The wording of the Nada regulations . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 3, 2009.
  5. ↑ NADA annual report 2014 . In: National Anti-Doping Agency Germany .
  6. ↑ NADA annual report 2004 . In: National Anti-Doping Agency Germany .
  7. ↑ Oliver Kubanek: DTU front runner in number of doping controls . In: German Triathlon Union . April 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ endurance News (page 3; PDF; 427 kB)
  9. ↑ Sharon Robb: Sport`s Best Athletes Converge On Miami ( english ) In: Sun-Sentinel . November 17, 1989.
  10. ↑ The 25 greatest mal triathletes of all time ( English ) In: triathlete.competitor.com . Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  11. ^ Ironman World Championship: Drug Testing For Dummies . In: triathlon.competitor.com . October 6, 2009.
  12. ↑ Elmar Wagner: Suspicious values . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . 17th November 2012.
  13. ^ The Irresistible Force Meets the Immovable Object, Spencer Smith and the ITU ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ COLLECTION OF SPORTS-RELATED CASE-LAW olympic.org 2002 ( Memento of December 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ↑ Jörg Kottmeier: Reid is "King of the Iron Men" . In: Rhein-Zeitung . October 16, 2000.
  16. ↑ Triathlon's Olympic 'oblivion' . In: The Guardian . December 16, 2001.
  17. ↑ ITU's stand on illicit drugs in triathlon . Archived from the original on February 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ Triathlete tests positive . In: The Guardian . July 27, 2002.
  19. ↑ Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schänzer et al .: Positive doping cases with norandrosterone from contaminated food supplements . In: German magazine for sports medicine . November 2000.
  20. ↑ Katja Schumacher is blocked ( Memento from October 12, 2004 in the Internet Archive ), In: 3athlon.de , September 11, 2004
  21. ^ Doping in the Katja Schumacher case In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . September 5, 2004
  22. ↑ Katja Schumacher doubts the procedure ( memento of October 12, 2004 in the Internet Archive ), In: 3athlon.de , September 12, 2004
  23. ↑ Timothy Carlson: The never ending prosecution of Katja Schumacher ( English ) In: InsideTri.com . February 23, 2005. Archived from the original on February 24, 2005.
  24. ↑ Ralf Weitbrecht: Ironman winner Nina Kraft admits epo-doping . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . November 10, 2004.
  25. ↑ Nina Kraft's doping ban halved . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 21, 20043.
  26. ↑ Only halfway insightful perpetrator . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . January 8, 2006.
  27. ↑ Power struggle between associations and Ironman organizers . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . December 14, 2005.
  28. ↑ Ban for Zäck after the end of his career . In: 1asport.de . September 13, 2006. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007.
  29. ^ Doping: State champion Georg Swoboda and world champion Tim Don?
  30. ^ Statement of the ÖTRV on the doping case Georg Swoboda (PDF; 32 kB) Austrian Triathlon Association . Archived from the original on September 7, 2012.
  31. ↑ Michael Eder: Stadler against Al-Sultan, Think against doping . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 26, 2007. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016.
  32. ↑ Affidavit by Kai Hundertmarck .
  33. ↑ Ralf Weitbrecht: Hundertmarck gives Ironman ambivalent rejection . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 8, 2007.
  34. ↑ Doping dispute: Ex-Telekom professional Hundertmarck cancels Ironman . In: Der Spiegel . June 8, 2007.
  35. ^ Ralf Weitbrecht: Hundertmarck locked for life . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 9, 2007.
  36. ↑ a b Voluntary blood tests at the IRONMAN Frankfurt: Lothar Leder in the search cross of the doping inspectors and in the conflict with the IRONMAN Frankfurt ( memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), 3athlon.de
  37. ↑ NADA distances itself from the Ironman organizer . National Anti-Doping Agency Germany . August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016.
  38. ↑ DTU opens investigations ( Memento from January 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), 3athlon.de
  39. ↑ Investigations against top triathlete Lothar Leder . In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 1, 2007.
  40. ↑ Interview with Dr. Klaus Poettgen, medical director of the IRONMAN European Championship Frankfurt ( memento from September 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), 3athlon.de
  41. ↑ Success in court for triathlete leather . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016.
  42. ^ Decision Lothar Leder - justification. DTU, April 15, 2008, accessed October 1, 2014 .
  43. ↑ No doping detectable: proceedings against triathlete leather discontinued. In: FAZ . April 8, 2008, accessed October 1, 2014 .
  44. ↑ For lack of evidence. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . April 9, 2007, accessed October 1, 2014 .
  45. ↑ Steffen Gerth: My good reputation has been destroyed . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 9, 2008.
  46. ↑ Lennart Klocke: Commerzbank team clean even with follow-up analysis . In: tri-mag.de . 17th November 2014.
  47. ↑ Stefan Leitner: Lisa Hütthaler blocked for 2 years . In: trinews.at . October 23, 2008.
  48. ↑ 18 months instead of two years ( memento from July 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) , ORF , April 6, 2009
  49. ↑ Lisa Hütthaler's doping confession ( memento from March 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Kurier
  50. ^ A telling confession: The doping affair in Austria ( Memento of December 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) , Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 27, 2009
  51. ^ Doping: Hütthaler names EPO suppliers , vol.at
  52. ↑ ORF interview of March 27, 2009
  53. ↑ Hütthaler does not believe in the doping network , March 30, 2009
  54. ↑ Hütthaler's ex-boyfriend Dimmel: "It was bribery" . Archived from the original on April 1, 2009.
  55. ^ Accusation of bribery ( memento from July 16, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF , March 28, 2009
  56. ↑ Cathrin Gilbert: Spiegel talk: "Wow! More of it" . In: Der Spiegel . April 27, 2009 .: "The Austrian triathlete and key witness Lisa Hütthaler , 25, about Epo in the refrigerator, the effects of testosterone "
  57. ↑ Lisa Hütthaler convicted of bribery . In: The Standard . June 26, 2009.
  58. ↑ Kohl names a CERA supplier ( Memento from June 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (www.kurier.at)
  59. ↑ Markus Miksch: Doping: Hütthaler convicted of bribery . In: www.heute.at . June 26, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  60. ↑ Hannes Hempel banned for 4 years . In: trinews.at . June 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  61. ↑ Doping amnesty for Hannes Hempel kleinezeitung.at January 12, 2012
  62. ↑ Hannes Hempel tested positive (April 25, 2013)
  63. ↑ Hannes Hempel waives the B sample (May 2, 2013)
  64. ↑ Hannes Hempel banned for life (October 1, 2013)
  65. ↑ Fabian Fiedler: Two US triathletes tested positive for Ostarine In: tri-mag.de February 4, 2017
  66. ↑ Eike Radszuhn: Doping controls also for amateurs . In: The world . July 24, 2007.
  67. ^ Dietz P., Ulrich R., Dalaker R., Striegel H., Franke AG, Lieb K, Simon P .: Associations between physical and cognitive doping - a cross-sectional study in 2.997 triathletes . November 2013, doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0078702 , PMID 24236038 .