Olympic *shooter* stripped of medals because of doping. Huh?

The Game Room
1

I just read an online news story about the Swedish wrestler who lost his bronze medal because he exhibited unsportsmanlike conduct when he stormed off the podium at the medals ceremony. It mentions other athletes who have been disqualified in this year’s games, including this:

“… On Friday, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su had his silver and bronze medals taken away after failing a doping test. …”

A doping violation by a shooter??? Isn’t that odd? What sort of preformance enhancing drugs would a shooter take? I mean, is pulling a trigger really that strenuous?

2

There are drugs that slow the heart rate. At this level even the heartbeat can throw off a shot enough to make a difference. A shooter tries to break the shot between heartbeats. Slower heart rate=more time between beats.

3

Well actually the drug used by shooters and archers is Propanolol which is a betablocker, used in the treatment of hypertension which can be used to prevent trembling in the limbs.

4

The shooter in question has a wikipedia page. Apparently the drug was propranolol, used to “prevent trembling” .

5

Hey since there seem to be people who know shooting, I have a question. After thinking about that guy with artificial feet, and his fight to get into competition I was wondering if shooters are allowed to wear contacts, glasses or have LASIK? It does seem like it would be an artifical aid fundamental to the ability of the sport, andhas there ever been an issue?

6

Why wouldn’t they? It’s hardly in the same realm as doping, myopics can shoot too. At 100 yards, I wouldn’t even be able to see the target.

What is this, Harrison Bergeron?

7

[QUOTE=thelurkinghorror]
Why wouldn’t they? It’s hardly in the same realm as doping, myopics can shoot too. At 100 yards, I wouldn’t even be able to see the target.

What is this, Harrison Bergeron?
[/QUOTE]

I never said anything about handicapping people, just limiting artifical inhancments. If you are allowed to compensate for bad eyesight with lenses,why shouldn’t I be able to compensate for me shaky hands by bringing a support tripod onto the shooting range?

8

Some like Tiger Woods have enhanced lasiks. It gives better than 20-20. It might be helpful for shooters.

9

[QUOTE=wolfman]
Hey since there seem to be people who know shooting, I have a question. After thinking about that guy with artificial feet, and his fight to get into competition I was wondering if shooters are allowed to wear contacts, glasses or have LASIK? It does seem like it would be an artifical aid fundamental to the ability of the sport, andhas there ever been an issue?
[/QUOTE]
Even if the shooter does not require a prescription, glasses are generally worn. There can be a lot of stuff flying around on the line (most often, spent brass), and the last thing you need is someone’s spent brass flying into your eye after it has been ejected from his firearm. Of course, if you do need prescription glasses normally to see, you are allowed to wear them on the range. I didn’t need prescription lenses, but I did have a nice pair of yellow-tinted shooting glasses. They were perfectly fine according to the rules, and because of that, were never questioned by the officials of the matches I shot in.

Generally, the rules regarding dress and such for Olympic-style shooting matches are spelled out clearly in the rulebooks. I have no idea where my rulebooks got to (as you might guess, I was a competition shooter but that was years ago), but IIRC, they were quite detailed, going so far as to dictate such things as how think your shirt and pants could be, and how high up your ankle your shoes/boots could go. Parameters for your equipment were also spelled out, and subject to inspection by match officials before it could be used in competition–again, a very detailed list of things: specifications for my shooting jacket, my glove, my sling, and naturally, my rifle itself were all minutely spelled out.

To answer the OP, pulling a trigger isn’t strenuous. It’s aiming the firearm and pulling the trigger over and over again in such a way that each shot scores a bullseye that is strenuous. When a match can be lost if a shot is out by a hair’s breadth, you want every possible advantage. Drugs can help here, as mentioned upthread, but of course they’re not allowed. So you look to managing your heart rate, your breathing, and so on yourself. It may not be quite the same as running the marathon or swimming or gymnastics, but shooting is physical in its own way; I would get up off my point after as little as two hours, and be bathed in sweat just from trying to hold my position, control my breathing and heart rate, and still managing to hit the bullseye–in my case, only most of the time. I actually tried out for a spot on my country’s 1984 Olympic shooting team but missed it by–you guessed it–a hair’s breadth. :frowning:

Added on preview: no, support tripods are not allowed either. See the rulebook for what is allowed–if it’s not in there, it’s not allowed.

10

so … what if you happen to be on a beta-blocker legitemately [and can be proven to have whatever condition would actually call for one, for a substantial number of years pre-olympics]? Would you still get gigged for doping or does that fall under why I can slug down the narcotics legally and pass a piss test for work [ i have a legitemate prescription for pain control usage]

11

[QUOTE=aruvqan]
so … what if you happen to be on a beta-blocker legitemately [and can be proven to have whatever condition would actually call for one, for a substantial number of years pre-olympics]? Would you still get gigged for doping or does that fall under why I can slug down the narcotics legally and pass a piss test for work [ i have a legitemate prescription for pain control usage]
[/QUOTE]
When I read the OP, the first thought I had was “beta blocker.”

The same problem arose in snooker. Steadiness of hand is important to ensure a smooth strike of the cueball, and tremors in either hand really hamper top-level play.

One of the sports personalities when I was a young man was Bill Werbeniuk who had a prescription for propranolol. There was some controversy over whether his medical condition gave him the right to take the drug, which conferred a significant competitive advantage over other people without his condition.

Eventually the snooker authorities decided to ban the substance, and he couldn’t sustain pro level performances.

The answer to your question is probably that if your state of health doesn’t permit you to compete without taking drugs that confer a significant competitive advantage, then you’ll have to find another sport. Otherwise your legitimate need becomes a precedent for cheaters.

I don’t think being able to work properly is an adequate comparison; for one thing, you’re not in a competition with your co-workers to prove who’s the best at your role.

12

North Korean? I don’t think we’ll see him in competition any more. His next encounter with a pistol will be at the wrong end, I’m afraid.

13

Jesus, haven’t any of you guys played Metal Gear Solid? Remember the Diazepam?

14

[QUOTE=MHaye]

One of the sports personalities when I was a young man was Bill Werbeniuk who had a prescription for propranolol. There was some controversy over whether his medical condition gave him the right to take the drug, which conferred a significant competitive advantage over other people without his condition.

[/QUOTE]

Wasn’t Bill getting through about forty beers a day?

15

[QUOTE=MHaye]
The answer to your question is probably that if your state of health doesn’t permit you to compete without taking drugs that confer a significant competitive advantage, then you’ll have to find another sport. Otherwise your legitimate need becomes a precedent for cheaters.

I don’t think being able to work properly is an adequate comparison; for one thing, you’re not in a competition with your co-workers to prove who’s the best at your role.
[/QUOTE]
Or rather, there is no external body that will say “X Corporation’s contract is rescinded because their performance was improved by their accountants being on Dexedrine and their deliverymen being on steroids”; so when evaluating whether his/her job performance is competitive (at bonus/promotion time), his/her employer only cares if he added value to the company, not how s/he got to be so sharp.

Propanolol was a popular med for exam-day jitters back in the late 80s when I used to hang with health-profession students.

Yes, if you have a condition that prevents you from competing w/o using a banned substance during the match, then you just have a condition that prevents you from competing. In this specific case, if you’re hypertensive, your doc can try to see if switching from B-blockers to ACEIs (which at least in my own experience, lowered my BP but left me just as jittery and jumpy as before) is just as safe and effective for your condition, but I’d imagine that would be all you could do about it.