Olympic Russian Curler Busted for Performance-Enhancing Drug

[berkeman]

I didn't know whether to post this in the "Weird News" thread or here in the Medical forum, but I'd be interested to hear what folks thought would be the huge advantage of taking meldonium to help with Curling...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tbox-five-facts-about-meldonium-idUSKCN1G20IT

I heard about this on the radio driving to work today, and at first I thought the sports-talk radio guys were just kidding around. But then I got to work and checked the news articles, and it appears to be true. What in the world...?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/sports/olympics/olympic-curling-doping-reaction.html

“I was a bit shocked this morning,” said Madeleine Dupont, the skip of the Danish women’s team. “I was like, ‘That cannot be true.’ But then again, people have been taking all sorts of stuff: natural medicine or lip balm or I don’t know what. So I wouldn’t really judge anyone until I knew it was on purpose.”

Asked if she thought the sport’s reputation could be harmed, Dupont said: “I think most people will laugh and be like, ‘What would you possibly need doping for?’”

Krushelnytsky, in a routine urine check, was found to have traces of meldonium in his system. Use of the drug, a heart medicine that increases blood flow and has been banned from most sports since 2016, has ensnared other Russian athletes in doping cases in the past couple years.

 

[nsaspook]

Imagine working the same job for ten years and still having to sweep floors. It might take a little 'extra' something to get motivated.