Archive from 2012

26-Year-Old Bulgarian Man Dies from Anabolic Steroids

A 26-year-old Bulgarian man has passed away in Bulgaria's Varna as a result of the continuous intake of anabolic steroids. The young man died just hours after he was admitted to the Toxicology Clinic at the hospital of the Bulgarian Navy in the Black Sea city of Varna. He was diagnosed with steroid intoxication, and it has been confirmed by the doctors that this was the cause of death. The 26-year-old man, who is known to have been working out regularly, and to have used anabolic steroids in order to enhance his performance, first sought medical aid from his GP when he had difficulty breathing. Medical tests showed that the steroids he had been taking caused his heart to swell substantially. He was planned to be admitted to hospital for medical treatment but in the meantime he felt very sick, and was admitted immediately to the Naval Hospital in Varna, the head of the Toxicology Clinic, Dr. Snezha Zlateva, told reporters. The medics found that, in addition to his swollen heart, he had blood clotting in his lungs and legs. "The young men took steroids both orally and hypodermically," Dr. Zlateva explained, while also reminding that several young sportsmen from around the world have died as a result of steroid intake. "Parents must be very careful in order to prevent their children from taking such substances. It should also be known that steroids are sometimes found even in food supplements for professional sports players. In her words, the autopsy has proven irrefutably that the 26-year-old died of steroid intake but the histological tests are yet to show what type of substances he had used. Source:

Is pain medication in sport a form of legal doping?

The deputy director of the World Anti Doping Laboratory in Cologne Dr Hans Geyer says that painkillers fulfil all the requirements of a doping substance. Dr Hans Geyer has been evaluating doping control forms and urine samples for a decade looking for evidence of pain medication. He found that athletes in many fields are taking large quantities of these drugs both in and out of competition. He says that controlling these drugs in sport is impossible. Dr Geyer says that as well as the analytical data he has been told directly by players that abuse of medications is widespread. „Painkillers really enhance performance but they have negative effects on body tissues, maybe irreversible effects.” – he said. "In a world championship in handball I have an original citation from one of the best players who said 50% of the team that won the championship took diclofenac - therefore we have to ask what is going wrong. Is the training too hard? Can a normal person not do these sports without painkillers? This is very alarming. "It's well known that Andreas Erm who won a bronze medal in the 50km walk in the 2003 world athletic championship in Paris received pain killers several times during the walk - can you tell me this is not performance enhancing? "His body was not able to walk 50km on this day in such a speed but he won the bronze medal because he was treated with pain killing medications!" Doping grey zone Dr Geyer says that competitors like Erm were not doing anything wrong. There is obviously a need to treat competitors in an event if they are in pain. But out of competition he is worried that about the use of medicines. Athletes may be able to improve their training performance because they don't need such a long recovery time after a hard session. "It is a grey zone. In my opinion pain killers fulfil all requirements of a doping substance because normally pain is a protection mechanism of the body and with pain killers you switch of this protection system, like if you switch off fatigue, which is also a protection mechanism of the body. "Painkillers really enhance performance but they have negative effects on body tissues, maybe irreversible effects." But while pain killing medications may have performance enhancing effects, Dr Geyer believes it will not be possible to limit their use in sport. "I think the control of these substances is impossible, as they are easily available in society. Therefore it is not possible to treat the use of painkillers in the same way as other doping substances." Who is responsible? There are issues relating to the supply of these medications as many of the most powerful pain killing drugs are available only on prescription. Dr Geyer argues that the medical community often has no choice but to give in to the demands of high profile athletes. "Doctors know that there may be problems with tissues and bones and the knees and they also know that if they allow the athlete to continue his training and competing with pain killing medications there will most probably be irreversible or long-term effects. "This should be discussed. There a question of ethical responsibility and the motivation of sports medicine. "But you know if an athlete doesn't receive the medication from one doctor he goes to the next and if he is a famous athlete he will receive everything. This is also a question that should be discussed." By Matt McGrath Science reporter, BBC World Service Source:

Five Weightlifters Selected to Team GB

With just 46 days to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympics, the British Olympic Association (BOA) has announced yesterday five weightlifters as officially selected to compete for Team GB at the Games. The five selected athletes – three men and two women – represent the largest contingent of weightlifters Team GB has taken to an Olympics Games since Barcelona 1996, when there were six British weightlifters. All five athletes will be competing at their first Olympic Games in London and will be aiming to produce their personal best during the competition which takes place at the ExCeL Arena in London Docklands from 28th July to 7th August. The weightlifters selected to Team GB today are: •Gareth Evans •Peter Kirkbride •Jack Oliver •Natasha Perdue •Zoe Smith Click here to read

The last Continental Olympic Qualification Event ended

The Oceania Championships – Continental Olympic Qualification Event & Commonwealth Championships in Apia, Samoa welcome the best Oceania athletes who done their utmost to grab a chance enable their country to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Games. 38 Women from 10 countries and 69 Men from 18 counties performed at their best to earn Olympic quotas. Within Women, the following countries obtained 1 Olympic Quota: SAM, PNG, FIJ, AUS. Within Men, the following countries obtained 1 Olympic Quota: AUS, KIR, FIJ, NZL, PNG. The successful weightlifting competition was the last event closing the festive period that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Samoa’s Independence. Check out the Results of the Oceania Championships and the Result Book. As the last Olympic Qualification Event ended, you can consult the latest ranking for London 2012. The Results of the African, European and Asian Events are final; therefore the Qualification Summary was updated

IOC to live stream London 2012 in 64 territories on its YouTube channel

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it will live stream the London 2012 Olympic Games in 64 territories on the IOC’s channel on YouTube http://youtube.com/olympic. During the Olympic Games (27 July to 12 August), sports fans in these 64 territories across Asia and Africa will be able to enjoy live coverage of the events as well as highlight clips on this digital platform — free-of-charge. Viewers from these territories will be able to watch the streams on the IOC’s YouTube channel, accessible online or on Internet-enabled devices like smart/mobile phones and other YouTube-enabled devices. The live-streaming on the IOC’s YouTube channel will provide exclusive digital access to the London 2012 Olympic Games in territories where digital broadcast rights have not already been acquired by the IOC’s broadcast partners: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. And in 42 Sub-Saharan African territories on a non-exclusive basis, including: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The IOC’s live streaming on its YouTube channel will consist of 11 different simultaneous high-definition broadcasts, all with English language commentary. There will be 10 live feeds from London 2012, running 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (London time) (on some days, these will start earlier or finish later based on the competition schedule), plus a 24-hour broadcast of the Olympic News Channel, which includes summaries of the latest results, general reports on different events, and interviews with athletes. Fans will also be able to catch up on highlights and full events — all organised by the day, medal event or the sport. The IOC channel will also continue to feature historic content from past Olympic Games. In total, the IOC’s YouTube channel will offer over 2,200 hours hours of sporting event coverage from London 2012, including all the medals finals. Timo Lumme, Managing Director, IOC Television and Marketing, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer live online coverage of London 2012 to sports fans free of charge across these 64 markets. We first provided clips on our channel on YouTube during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games across the region, and since then have continued to provide footage of past Olympic Games across the world on our YouTube channel. Now we will also be able to offer live coverage during London 2012, complementing the excellent coverage provided by our broadcast partners across the world across all media

Institute lifters dominates first day of lifting

5 categories contested on the 1st day of the Oceania Senior Championships and all five categories were won by lifters training at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia. The 48kg was won by Kathleen Hare from PNG, 53kg was won by Dika Toua also from PNG with a 182kg Total results. The 58 kg was won by Fijian Sportswoman of the year, Maria Liku, with a Total results of 188kg. In the men 56kg Manueli Tulo from FIJ take the gold with 237kg Total results while Manuel Minginfel from FSM won in 62kg with an impressive 280kg Total results. It is interesting to note that the winner in 62kg, Manuel Minginfel is the General Secretary of the FSM Weightlifting Federation and was elected as Executive Board Member of the OWF recently.