“I have always had therapeutic exceptions”: Serena Williams spoke about the use of doping. Yuri Loza, singer

leading American athletes, including Venus Williams and Simone Biles, not only spawned new round discussion of modern anti-doping rules, but once again called into question the objectivity of the employees of the main anti-doping organization WADA. An inherently ordinary situation each time leads to a difficult discussion about the status of a professional athlete and about the future of big sport in general, and only an expert can separate facts from speculation. Why the scandal that has arisen has no grounds and how big sport the situation with various medications, explains endocrinologist Nikita Taller in detail.

The excitement in the domestic media regarding the published documents is quite understandable: less than a month has passed since the end of the Olympic Games, in which almost a third of the representatives of Russia did not participate - according to different reasons, but one way or another connected with suspicions of the use of prohibited substances. And then documents with “steroids”, “opiates” and “amphetamines” legalized for Russia’s main competitors pop up - and under the publications a string of comments about the “Williams brothers”, “anabolic athletes”, old memes about Americans and lengthy statements about diagnoses from official representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Formally, the situation is extremely simple: when an athlete has a chronic disease that requires appropriate course or lifelong treatment, or gets injured, or is preparing for surgery, or simply “colds” during the next flight between competitions, he is examined by a certified specialist and issues a conclusion on the need for treatment. . Data on a special system is sent to WADA for the issuance of the so-called TUE - a therapeutic exception. Thus, a prohibited drug becomes temporarily permitted for medical reasons - its further detection in a doping test is compared with data on the course of treatment and its duration, which excludes the possibility of uncontrolled intake outside the previously agreed course.

The easiest way to explain this is by the example of the Williams sisters. They have been performing in one of the most traumatic sports for more than twenty years, while now Serena is 34 years old, and Venus is 36, which is considered a “critical” age for modern tennis (in the 90s, tennis players hardly reached 30). Without the periodic use of painkillers (in this case, rather strong semi-synthetic opioids) and anti-inflammatory drugs (glucocorticosteroids), they cannot continue to perform. In addition, Venus has Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease with a primary lesion of the external secretion glands, often combined with even more serious disorders of the immune system. Due to this illness, Williams did not perform for some time.

Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that I"m afraid to let people know.
Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 13, 2016

Sjögren's syndrome requires the use of glucocorticosteroids. Although these are steroids, unlike the notorious “anabolics”, they have an inverse catabolic effect, that is, with prolonged use they help to reduce muscle mass, the development of muscle weakness and an increased risk of fractures. It certainly doesn't improve. sports achivments. There are clandestine schemes with a combination of "anabolics" and "catabolics" among the visitors of specialized training sections, but it is impossible to pass such a scheme through doping tests and remain "clean" after that.

Interestingly, glucocorticoids, in particular prednisolone, have been used during tournaments - for example, at Open Championship France in 2015, which ended with the victory of Serena Williams, despite an earlier injury. Can this be considered a scam? Perhaps not: the drugs used do not improve physical performance, but level the effects of injury. The organizers of the tournament are extremely interested in the participation of the most popular athletes in the later stages and, of course, in the final.

Premature ending of a match due to an injury or refusal to participate are reputational and financial problems, and for Serena herself, a delay in the opportunity to set another record (in this case, in terms of the number of victories in tournaments Grand Slam). So TUE is a legalized renewal method sports life top players. We want to see Lionel Messi, LeBron James or Serena Williams on the courts as often as possible, and medical services are meeting the needs of the consumer. This, probably, justifies the choice of more serious painkillers, which are not available in our country even for palliative therapy of cancer patients, but are available in other regions.

Therapeutic exclusion is quite a common situation. Center Director sports medicine FMBA Andrey Sereda confirmed that Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, “for one or another urgent indication, they issued permits for therapeutic use to four athletes” and “he did not see any obstacles, nit-picking on the part of the services that consider these documents.” “Yesterday, one of the athletes of our team in one of the hospitals required the appointment of illegal drugs - similar, by the way, to those used by the Williams sisters. We drew up the documents at night, sent them for consideration today, and I am 120% sure that we will get permission for this TUE, because we justified it with an extract from the hospital, the conclusion of a doctor who, according to urgent indications, introduced this drug, ”quotes words of the specialist "R-Sport". Moreover, according to statistics, it is glucocorticosteroids, diuretics (diuretics) and selective β2-agonists (inhaled drugs for the treatment bronchial asthma) are the most commonly prescribed TUE drugs.

The situation with Simone Biles is more complex and controversial. ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD) began to be actively studied not so long ago, although, according to some experts, this is a fairly common phenomenon among children (it is observed in 3-7%). Relatively speaking, if you had a violent, impulsive and restless desk mate, a loser and a bully, then perhaps this is not a defect in education at all, but the same ADHD. In Russia, such a diagnosis is made infrequently, but in the USA it is quite an ordinary practice.

Psychotropic drugs are prescribed, including methylphenidate and amephtamines - there are a lot of methods that have already been tested or are at the research stage. The application is based on the fact that in attention deficit disorder there are functional disturbances in the work of neurotransmitters (for example, dopamine and norepinephrine) in certain parts of the brain, in particular in the prefrontal cortex. These are purely functional, not anatomical disorders: in other words, the wrong substances are produced in the connections between brain cells, in the wrong quantities and in the wrong place. The use of psychostimulants contributes to an increase in neurotransmitter activity in these particular brain systems.

It is important to understand that the effect of these drugs in a healthy person and a patient with ADHD will be different. Does it give an advantage to a professional athlete? Probably yes, especially in those sports where the balance of normal arousal, which gives physical and psychological vigor, and inhibitory processes, limiting excessive activity and contributing to increased endurance, motivation and vigilance, is important. In addition, they temporarily improve memory, including “muscle memory”.

All this helps in sports that require constant concentration and exact repetition of previously repeatedly worked out elements, and gymnastics definitely one of those. Amphetamines also have a fat-burning effect, which can also be important for gymnasts. The result is a contradiction: Biles's patient has every right to receive such therapy, but Simone probably would not have such stable performance without concomitant therapy, because ADHD itself would provoke haste and excessive movement. Recall that the same diagnosis was made in childhood to the great swimmer Michael Phelps.

We come to the most difficult question in professional sports: whether an athlete with certain defects and developmental disabilities, fully or partially solved by treatment, has the right to compete under the same rules as other people. High achievements in big sport - the result of selection for genetic characteristics or a product of modern legalized pharmacology? Even now, modern medicine has the ability to predict the potential of a particular sport for a particular person: to determine the type muscle tissue, predisposing to sprint or stayer loads, connective tissue defects that determine the risk of developing injuries, and so on.

If in such a future there is a place for "imperfect" athletes like Biles? Where is the line between the necessary medical support that equalizes athletes and the potential advantage? IN modern sports(in the professional Olympic, not Paralympic) there is a place for people with growth disorders (Leo Messi underwent a long course of therapy due to growth hormone deficiency, and the drugs taken are on the banned list), athletes with diabetes (insulin is the same anabolic hormone) , people with impaired immune systems and those who have undergone organ transplantation (both of them take the notorious glucocorticosteroids). If for each of these categories their own world championships and Olympic Games are organized, this will be discrimination.

The closeness of WADA, the inability to clearly formulate the rules of the game and their rationale create the impression of chaos in the organization. During recent years The list of prohibited drugs included drugs not only with unproven safety, but also with absolutely unproven effectiveness in professional sports. What and to whom does meldonium or a slightly earlier banned analogue of trimetazidine, extremely popular in the countries of the former CIS, give, it was not really possible to substantiate. Some accepted it because they believed it, others forbade it because they did not believe it.

As a doctor, I am sad to read the news about doping scandals with our athletes, especially in team and “technical” sports, where the very expediency of doping and its significant effectiveness are extremely doubtful. Indeed, in many situations this is due to inattention and disorganization. This may be taking dietary supplements for weight loss with an unspecified composition or energy drinks containing a weak psychostimulant methylhexanamine. Another example is taking diuretics, which in some sports can be used to more quickly eliminate other drugs, but most are used only for cutting. excess weight before the training camp, so as not to get fined for being overweight.

They take the same glucocorticosteroids as a means for the treatment of inflammatory processes, including injuries to the tendons, joints, and so on. It is solely a matter of the sports doctor's control, documenting all the remedies and issuing those very therapeutic exceptions, which has not happened even once in ten years in the case of Maria Sharapova. That is why Serena Williams is still on the court, but Maria is not. But Pandora's box has already been opened, and, apparently, we are waiting for streams of previously confidential information about leading athletes.

Rodion Gazmanov, singer, son of Oleg Gazmanov

"Of course, I'm worried about our athletes, I wish them victory. I'll cheer, I'll watch what's going on. I have such a wild schedule now, so I can't guess what I'll watch. I'll watch something in reruns. Competitions, where ours will win, I will definitely review.

It is clear that when it comes to world records, these are not only sports competitions, but also pharmaceutical ones. Unfortunately, this is part of the Olympics, part of professional sports. I've seen girls on the American women's rugby team who look more like men than most men. Remember, there was a picture - one of the Williams sisters with pumped up muscles and our thin, graceful Sharapova. Under Sharapova's signature: "Meldonium", under Williams - "Muesli".

Of course it's very sad that professional athletes you have to go on medication, but they have to stay afloat. Therefore, to say that we have doping, but they don’t, is pure hypocrisy. My dad is also actively involved in sports, but I know for sure that he does not take doping. His doping is music. I have enough for morning exercises and evening runs, which, in general, is also good. But don't confuse the sport of keeping fit with professional sports, where people work hard, where the athlete takes drugs to run two tenths of a second faster than the competition."

Dima Bilan, singer

“I’ll definitely turn on the TV - I really want to see familiar places (this year the artist took part in the Olympic torch relay. - Approx. Ed.). Rio is a really amazing city, so I still turn into a spectator, although the TV takes only 5 % of my time. What specific competitions I will watch, I can’t say yet. I like water sports very much, but in general, a little bit of everything is interesting. I will get acquainted with the general mood, how bright, interesting, emotional it is.

I can’t comment on the doping scandal - I think it would be wrong. I was in Rio on a mission, no matter how loud it sounds. He represented our country as a torchbearer and supported Russian athletes."

Viktor Sukhorukov, actor

“I can’t pass by a world-class event in which my country participates. All the more, I will root for our team, because I witnessed that disgrace, that inquisitorial torture that our athletes were subjected to in recent weeks and months. Moreover, this persecution was sophisticated - in suits, with refined manners. Healthy and talented people would not take part in this, would not attack such a serious country as Russia. Therefore, it is to spite them that I will watch, applaud, admire the successes of our team. And most of all I love look at team sports, where both human and anti-human traits are most pronounced.

Yuri Loza, singer

“This time I will not watch the Olympics. The most interesting thing for me is light and weightlifting – at these games, unfortunately, our athletes are not represented in these sports.

What do I think about the doping scandal? I think that Russia should have declared from the outset that we agree to participate in the Olympic Games only on the basis of Olympic principles. Olympic principle- everyone is equal. This means that you cannot agree to participate if they make us guilty. Russia should have withdrawn the application. And the money that we spend on the IOC and on all these things should be given to athletes from our country. Nobody prevents them from coming to competitions in private, and write "Russia" on their shorts or on a T-shirt. And what is happening now does not please me at all.”

Vladimir Berezin, actor, journalist, TV and radio presenter

"I wanted not to get sick, but after everything that happened to our Olympic team, I will watch, and experience, and be proud. Most of all I love synchronized swimming and jumping into the water. Every time I wonder how these beautiful, spectacular performances turn out. I think these are the most beautiful sports. It is a pity that there will be no our athletes - I have always been amazed at their endurance, strength, and capabilities.

Margarita Sukhankina, singer

"I remember the Moscow Olympics-80. I was 16 years old at that time, I was a soloist of the Great Children's Choir of the All-Union Radio. And I remember what Moscow was like - clean, smart, festive. I'm sure that everything is in order in Rio, that it will cost without incidents, scandals. Now, although I am on vacation with my children in the Crimea, I will follow the Games and rejoice at every medal of our team."

Lyubov Poryvaeva

Felix Grozdanov

So, Russia will work out its position on participation in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang at the Olympic meeting on December 12th. Meanwhile, the world reaction to the decision of the IOC is ambiguous. On the one hand, without the participation of Russian athletes, who have repeatedly surprised with high results, the Olympics are called lame. On the other hand, statements slip, they say, that's the way they need it. Analyzed the whole range of emotions Elena Gorelchik.

Head of the Latvian Olympic Committee Aldonis Vrublevsky called the IOC verdict a Solomonic decision, and in the German Union skiing consider the removal of Russia a difficult and sad event. At the same time, according to the German journalist Hajo Seppelt, the author of films about doping in Russian sports, the IOC's decision is not tough enough.

Hajo Seppelt, journalist (Germany):"The Russian Olympic Committee should simply accept the terms of the IOC, but is not obliged to take any steps to combat doping in order to be reinstated in two and a half months. What does this mean? About a dirty deal between the IOC and the Kremlin to avoid a boycott? Already at the ceremony closing we will be able to see the Russian flag as if nothing happened. The ten-week suspension is just an IOC PR stunt to save face."

“The removal of the Russian team will reduce competition at the Games, but will not lead to a solution to doping problems,” the authoritative American publication Sports Illustrated believes.

"The Russians were not caught by officials of the anti-doping system. They were caught by whistleblowers and journalists. It is naive to believe that such unique case can stop doping in Olympic sport."

On the pages of USA today, the fact that the very name of the country will remain in the name of the team is already called the victory of Russia " Olympic athlete from Russia, if Russian athletes decide to act under neutral flag. The journalists of the American magazine “Ekvaep” stated: “The games in Pyeongchang will not be the same as before without the Russians.

"Losing Russia is not what they want at the Games in South Korea. Ticket sales are low, nuclear tensions looming on the Korean Peninsula, and the absence of NHL players will diminish the appeal of hockey at the Games."

The International Ice Hockey Federation itself is in no hurry to evaluate the decision of the International Olympic Committee. The head of the IIHF, Rene Fasel, has repeatedly stated that collective punishment is not a solution to the problem, and called the evidence in the McLaren reports frivolous.

René Fasel, head of the International Ice Hockey Federation:"It takes the IIHF 24 to 48 hours to realize what is happening. This is the first time in history that this has happened. We need to see how Russia reacts. We need to talk to the IIHF representatives, we will have to talk to Russia. It's too early to make statements."

Darius Kasparaitis already won the Olympics in 1992, playing under a neutral flag, but then, the hockey player recalls, the country of Russia did not exist.

Darius Kasparaitis, Olympic champion 1992 as part of the combined team: "As a hockey player, you want to play under any flag. All players know what country they live in, who they play for, who they represent. If the hockey team goes to win Olympic medals, everyone will know that this is the Russian team. For many, this may be the last chance."

Position two-time champion world of Czech Gabriela Koukalova was known long before the announced decision. For the removal of the Russians from the Olympics, the biathlete spoke out more than once.

“I feel sorry for those who doped unknowingly. I feel very sorry for the clean athletes who lost their awards due to fraud. Of course, athletes from other countries also use doping, but nowhere to date has such a large-scale systemic fraud been detected. Therefore, I I want the Olympics to take place without Russia."

This post on the official page of Koukalova on Facebook has already collected almost 10 thousand likes, about 800 comments and 450 reposts. On the Internet, the discussion of the IOC verdict is the main topic. The search engine gives 3 million 400 links to the query "Russia's suspension from the Olympics." And in social networks there are more and more pictures like these. On the left is Marit Bjorgen, a Norwegian skier who received official permission to take steroids as a cure for asthma. Right: Russian biathlete Olga Zaitseva, who was banned for life on December 1 for manipulation with doping tests. Or American Serena Williams, according to the authors of the collage, who prefers muesli, and Russian Maria Sharapova, who lives on steroids.

The web ridiculed American athletes who do not seem to use illegal drugs, but look too masculine. Comparing the figures of athletes, users preferred girls from Russia.

A resident of Canada, Ben Kampen, published photos of American gymnast Simone Biles and Russian Aliya Mustafina in his microblog. Comparing the figures of the girls, the user laughed at the accusations of doping that were repeatedly made against athletes from Russia. The Canadian said that the pictures immediately show who uses steroids. Then Kampen joked that this is the Russian woman.

Other users in the comments also compared the girls not without humor. Some have noticed that the American so "grew up" on salads and fruit juices. A resident of Germany under the nickname DonDi Mucci pointed out that on the one hand he sees beautiful girl, and on the other, something frightening, created with the help of medicines.

The next couple that the user offered to compare were tennis players Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. The girls met repeatedly on the court. Experts often noted the size and power of the American. Sharapova has won five Grand Slams in her career, while Williams has 23 of the most prestigious trophies to his credit. Commenting on the photo, Ben Kampen suggested that the Russians are simply doping the wrong athletes by mistake.

Maxim Antonov

https://matveychev-oleg.livejournal.com/6615477.html#comments

Serena Williams

The Olympics will open in Rio de Janeiro today.

On the eve of the long-awaited competition, "Dni.Ru" asked famous singers, actors and hosts three topical questions: "Will you watch the Olympics?", "What is your favorite sport?" and "What do you think about the doping scandal?".

Rodion Gazmanov, singer, son of Oleg Gazmanov

Of course, it is very sad that professional athletes have to go on medication, but they must stay afloat. Therefore, to say that we have doping, but they do not, is pure hypocrisy. My dad is also actively involved in sports, but I know for sure that he does not take doping. His dope is music. I have enough for morning exercises and evening runs, which, in general, is also good. But don't confuse the sport of keeping fit with professional sports, where people work hard, where the athlete takes drugs to run two tenths of a second faster than the competition."

Dima Bilan, singer

“I’ll definitely turn on the TV - I really want to see familiar places (this year the artist took part in the Olympic torch relay. - Approx. Ed.). Rio is a really amazing city, so I still turn into a spectator, although the TV takes only 5 % of my time. What specific competitions I will watch, I can’t say yet. water sports sports, but in general, a little bit of everything is interesting. I will get acquainted with the general mood, how bright, interesting, emotional it is.

I cannot comment on the doping scandal - I think it would be wrong. I was in Rio on a mission, no matter how loud it sounds. He represented our country as a torchbearer and supported Russian athletes."

Viktor Sukhorukov, actor

“I can’t pass by a world-class event in which my country participates. All the more, I will root for our team, because I witnessed that disgrace, that inquisitorial torture that our athletes were subjected to in recent weeks and months. Moreover, this persecution was sophisticated - in suits, with exquisite manners. Healthy and talented people would not take part in this, would not attack such a serious country as Russia. Therefore, it is to spite them that I will watch, applaud, admire the successes of our team. And most of all I love look at team sports, where both human and anti-human traits are most pronounced.

Yuri Loza, singer

“This time I will not watch the Olympics. The most interesting thing for me is light and weightlifting - at these games, unfortunately, our athletes are not represented in these sports.

What do I think about the doping scandal? I think that Russia should have declared from the outset that we agree to participate in the Olympic Games only on the basis of Olympic principles. The Olympic principle is that everyone is equal. This means that you cannot agree to participate if they make us guilty. Russia should have withdrawn the application. And the money that we spend on the IOC and on all these things should be given to athletes from our country. Nobody prevents them from coming to competitions in private, and write "Russia" on their shorts or on a T-shirt. And what is happening now does not please me at all.”

Vladimir Berezin, actor, journalist, TV and radio presenter

“I wanted not to get sick, but after everything that happened to our Olympic team, I will watch, worry, and be proud. Most of all I love synchronized swimming and diving. Every time I wonder how these beautiful, spectacular performances turn out. It seems to me that these are the most beautiful sports. It is a pity that there will be no our athletes - I have always been amazed at their endurance, strength, and capabilities. "

Margarita Sukhankina, singer