Occassional thoughts about orienteering
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| okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering |
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Strange doping newsDagens Nyheter reported on an unusual sports doping case. Here's a rough translation of a bit of the report:A few weeks before the European Champs, I took some "ryssfemmor" [a type of anaboloic steriods in pill form]. I knew it was illegal, but I didn't think I'd get caught. The sport was weight lifting. I suppose it isn't much of a surprise that weight lifters might take steriods. What is unusual about the case is that the athlete was 73 years old. What does this have to do with orienteering? One argument that I've heard about doping and orienteering is that because there isn't much money in the sport, there isn't much doping. I think cases like this - a 73 year old weight lifter - suggests that doping isn't necessarily a motivated by money. Of course money is a motive for doping. But, I'd expect that there are some other really important motives - like individuals who (a) don't expect to get caught; (b) want to achieve some goal (the old dude wanted to break a record); and (c) compete in a sport culture that doesn't necessarily push a strong anti-doping environment. I worry that orienteering is susceptible to some of the same incentives, even if there isn't much money in the sport. Update I came across the original article, published in another Swedish paper called Dala Demokraten. The article is worth a look if you can read Swedish. Here is a little bit of what the Old Doper had to say when asked how he got ahold of the steriods: It was a young guy who explained how I could get the "ryssfemmor" on the Internet. He helped me make the order, I'm not so good with computers. The article includes a nice photo of the Old Doper. posted by Michael | 8:15 PM 
Comments:
I guess orienteers might have motivation for doping, but maybe less so given the mental aspect of the sport. It wouldn't matter how much a mediocre navigator doped, he still wouldn't win.
# posted by
 : 12:43 AM
Strangely enough this guy caught with doping used to be the coach for the Swedish national team in wrestling (the 'old-fashioned' European style) and a bit controversial even then, but never involved in doping at the time (?).
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There have been a few cases of doping in orienteering - mostly accidental (?) involving runners taking 'legal' medicines that at the time weren´t reported to the proper officials. If I remember correctly one Norwegian girl was suspended at a World Cup race in Canada (or USA) ages ago. In Sweden at least one male elite runner has been caught taking 'legal' medication and a few others suspended for leaving the meet site without providing the required urine sample, which is automatically the same as being doped. # posted by
: 4:38 PM |
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