| A life-saving injection could cost the career of our best biathlete Albina Akhatova, a world champion, winner of two Olympics and the best biathlete in Russia today (following the results of nine stages of the World Cup, she takes second place and really claims to win the Crystal Globe), is currently under threat of disqualification due to the discovery in her analyzes of a prohibited drug.
A prohibited drug (or rather, a medicine containing substances included in the black list of the World Anti-Doping Agency) “Cordiamin” is freely sold in any pharmacy and is recommended for use in case of a sharp drop in blood pressure. The story of the ill-fated injection has already been reflected in sufficient detail in the media, so we will remind readers only of the key points.
In the relay race at the World Cup in Anterselva, Akhatova traditionally ran the first stage and passed it first. As an eyewitness to the events, the author of these lines can assert with full responsibility that the health of our shooting skier after completing her six kilometers was poor. I can only judge what happened next from the words of the athlete herself and the women’s team doctor, Tatyana Popova:
— After passing the baton, Albina’s blood pressure dropped sharply. Seeing the condition she was in, I took her to the first aid station, where the athlete simply lost consciousness. In addition to us, there were two doctors responsible for the doping analysis: a representative of the IBU medical committee, Finn Hannu Litmanen, and an Italian laboratory assistant. The level of heart pressure scared everyone present with its critical indicators. Together with sticky sweat and shallow breathing, this indicated that Albina’s condition was close to collapse. For me, as a doctor, it was obvious: we are talking about a person whose life there is a very obvious threat. Cordiamine is available in the first aid kit of every medical team. I had it too. Of the drugs available at that moment, it was the most effective, so this particular injection was given. Albina felt better. She even went to the awards ceremony. Then she was called for a doping test (the representative from the team in this case is determined by lot). We went to the first-aid post together, and on a special sheet I indicated that “for medical reasons” she was given the appropriate injection, and those present at the first-aid post confirmed this fact.
There is absolutely nothing reprehensible in this action, which is understandable from the point of view of simple human logic. Anterselva is located at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, and moving to the middle mountains after two weeks of intense starts on the plain is a difficult test for any organism. For example, the men running their relay the next day amazed the spectators with simply unprecedented inaccuracy in shooting (world champion Austrian Rottman in standing shooting managed to miss all eight rounds, including additional ones), which many explained precisely by the difficulties of acclimatization and a busy competition schedule. For Akhatova, the crisis that was inevitable in such conditions came precisely on the day of the relay. The day before, she ran an individual race and was also tested for doping. The test was negative.
Three points are key to this story. First, who leaked the information? According to the regulations, until the tube with sample “B” is opened, information about the athlete’s analysis is closed. Three people could have known about the positive “A” test: the already mentioned Finn, IBU President Anders Basseberg and Union Secretary General Peter Bayer. The President of the Russian Biathlon Union, Alexander Tikhonov, who is almost constantly in the national team this season, has already expressed surprise at the information leak, although he did not blame anyone personally.
Secondly, why, having in hand a protocol on the use of a prohibited drug by an athlete, did the responsible persons from the IBU not immediately suspend the athlete (if they consider the injection a violation), but resorted to a formal doping test procedure, the result of which was already obvious? Here we can recall the numerous asthmatic athletes, in whose medical sheets many prohibited drugs are justified precisely by “medical indications.” Or the German Marco Morgenstern, who twice lost all control of himself during races. The athlete, who was in prostration, was not even called for special control, although I am sure there would have been many questions for him.
Third, how does the leadership of the national team now intend to defend the interests of the athlete? Alexander Tikhonov was very determined at first. Fortunately, the first vice-president of the IBU had the restraint not to enter into an open conflict with his own organization. In a procedural sense, there is one rather “subtle” point in this case. The signatures of the official medical representatives of the IBU are not under the protocol stating that the cordiamine injection was given, but under the medical sheet, which records that such an injection took place. That is, formally, doctors only admit that they were informed, and not that they agree with the actions of the Russian team doctor.
A decision regarding Akhatova will be made in early March at a meeting of the IBU executive committee. What will this decision depend on? Of course - from the position of the witnesses. In many ways, it depends on how the representatives of the Russian national team build their defense. On the eve of the World Cup, the successful resolution of the “Akhatova case” will largely set the mood for the entire championship. Georgy PETIN |
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