Maxine Trout

Dr. Roerdink

Chemistry in Sports

2 March 2017

Russian Athletes: Should They be the Example?

Doping: a very controversial subject in the world right now. There are many

different types of drugs to use to enhance performance which consists of illegal and legal

substances. As we have learned all through this semester in class, doping is a very prominent

action throughout the world and has been for decades. It would not be a shock to find out

someone had been using illegal substances in current times, as it has been seen for decades and

throughout time. Doping has been a very large issue in the Olympic in the last few decades and it

is not rare to have a few athletes be caught. Although there are precautions taken throughout the

duration of training to test for illegal substances, during competition, and after, we can clearly

see by the example of the Russians, that there are always ways around the testing and there are

ways to “fool” the system and get by clean. One of the big controversies around the world from

the Russian athletes and the doping scandal is whether or not the Russian athletes should have

been banned because of their illegal activities. The Russian should have been banned from the

2018 Winter Olympics and from representing their country because of the doping accusations

because, even though there are athletes using legal drugs, the drugs the Russian athletes were

using were illegal. Those drugs are banned substances for a reason and if the Olympic committee

does not punish the Russians hard enough, what is to stop other countries from doping also.
First, I would like to talk about some of the legal drugs athletes can use in the Olympics and their

effects. There are many types of legal drugs or supplements that athletes can take to enhance

performance and not face allegations and any consequences for using. These supplements are the

ones we see in the stores like Walmart, Kroger, GNC, etc. These supplements are usually natural

supplements or compounds that are not made to harm the body, but help when used properly and

many of these supplements can be found in your daily foods. There are legal substances such as

antioxidants, creatine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, proteins and amino acids, and others

(Deldicque, Louise). The list could go on about the many supplements athletes are allowed to

take, but these being the most common are important to share. These supplements are all

available to any person, even non athletes for daily use and are for benefitting those who are not

getting the nutrients they need daily.

One of the legal supplements when it come to sports is protein and amino acids.

As stated by Mark S. Juhn, “Arguably, proteins and amino acids are the most heavily marketed

category of sports supplements”. Any time you go to a market-store such as Walmart, and go

down the supplement isle, you will see protein and amino acids and anytime you turn on the tv

you see commercials and infomercials for all kinds of proteins like Muscle Milk or Slim Fast.

Protein is a very big fad lately and is used by athletes of all kinds for “bulking” and many people

use it to lose weight, but how much are these supplements really helping athletes? While protein

and amino acids will benefit all athletes through its main job- muscle repair and growth- there

really are no extra performance enhancements from proteins and amino acids. Adults who are

not athletes are recommended 0.8 grams per every kilogram of body weight daily (Juhn, Mark

S), endurance athletes on average are supposed to have 1.2 to 1.4 grams per every kilogram of

body weight daily, and weight training athletes should take in 1.6 to 1.7 grams per every
kilogram of body weight daily (Barker, Jill). The majority of people who eat healthy or like the

should, typically get the needed protein in their daily diet. The protein comes from foods such as

chicken, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, and many other foods people eat everyday. Many people

also use protein as a meal replacer for their meals. What could that mean for those people who

are getting too much protein daily? Well, the protein will sit in their bodies and turn into fat and

instead of gaining weight from bulking up their muscles, they will gain weight from stored body

fat (Barker, Jill). Doing things like taking protein and amino acid supplements, drinking protein

and amino acid shakes, and replacing their meals with these shakes is not benefitting the athlete

any more than their normal diet would. Many studies have been done to test how effective

protein and amino acids are. One study included several athletes taking these supplements for 10

weeks. When the athletes were being observed, no great benefits showed from the protein and

amino acids. In another study, athletes were given protein and amino acids with their

carbohydrates and when studied, no muscle synthesis was shown. According to an article written

by David M. Jenkinson, DO, and Allison J. Harbert, MD, amino acids have minimal negative

effects. Now, getting your protein every day is very important to the daily lifestyle, but buying

these supplements is not only a waste of money, but can actually do the opposite of what you

anticipated them to do. (Juhn, Mark S)

While there are many legal substances athletes use to enhance performance,

there are also many illegal substances athletes use. Some of these illegal substances include

anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. There are also substances that are prohibited only

up to a certain point and those substances include ephedrine and pseudoephedrine,

androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone, etc. All of these different drugs range in level of

negative effects. There can be no harmful effect, there can be minimal harmful effect, and there
can be high levels of harmful effects. These drugs also range in level of effectiveness. Some of

them show no signs of effect when it comes to performance enhancing and some drugs showed a

large effect of enhancing performance, it just depends on the drugs. Also, each drug that has

been proven to have a positive effect is shown in a certain way. What that means is that what one

drug does may not to help enhance the performance of the athlete, so each athlete may need a

different type of substance. Each drug does something different and to guarantee it will help the

athlete means you have to find the one that will enhance the performance of said athlete in their

specific sport.

One of the most recent, large scandals all of the world when it comes to athletes

doping is the Russians at the last winter olympics in Sochi, Russia. A person did not even have to

watch the olympics to know what was going on because it was all over the television,

newspapers, magazines, everywhere. Russia has been a part of a doping scheme for decades. The

2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia and the lab in Russia was run by Dr. Grigory

Rodchenkov. Dr. Rodchenkov was the mastermind behind the doping scandal and in charge of

doping the Russian athletes and trying to get away with it. Late at night, the doctors would

tamper with the “dirty “urine filled samples of the Russian athletes and replace them through a

tiny hole in the wall with clean urine samples. Rodchenkov claims over 100 Russian urine

samples were tampered with meaning over 100 Russian athletes are guilty of doping. After an

article about Rodchenkov and his activities came out, he was forced to quit his job, he then had

no job and nothing to lose. Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov was seen as a reliable source because there

was no reason for him to lie anymore. He ended up giving over a list of Russian athletes who,

indeed were doping and if they had won a medal or not. This solidified the accusations of

Russian doping and proved the claims. (Ruiz, Rebecca R, and Michael Schwirtz)
 Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov at this point had nothing to lose and told whoever he

need to that Russia indeed was part of a state-run doping regimen and even told of how the drugs

affected the athletes and why he used them. Rodchenkov came up with a sort of drink that had

three different drugs in it which included metenolone, trenbolone, oxandrolone. This specific

mix of drugs was chosen because their effects will help the athletes to recover faster and to be

able to compete at their best level for days. These drugs were specifically taken orally and they

had to mix them with alcohol and swish them around in their mouths to make sure they were

taking in as much as possible. Rodchenkov has a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, is very

knowledgeable in his field, and knew what to do and how to do it. (Ruiz, Rebecca R, and

Michael Schwirtz)

Since the discovery of the Russian doping scheme, there have been

consequences faced for the Russian athletes and Russian paralympic athletes. First, in the 2016

Summer Olympics hosted in Rio, the Russian track and field team was banned from competing

in the events. This decision was made by the International Olympic Committee because they

decided Russia had not done enough to make amends for what they had done and did not tried

hard enough to “restore integrity” to the Russian athletes (Ruiz, Rebecca R, and Ivan

Nechepurenko). In 2017, there was discussion on whether or not the Russians would now be

allowed to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics. It had been decided that yes, the Russians

were allowed to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics, but with stipulations. The Russians were

not allowed to wear any form of Russian symbols or colors, if they were to win a medal, their

national anthem was not to be played, they could not carry their country’s flag, and they were not

allowed to be called Russian athletes, but now Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR). At this

point, it was unclear whether or not Putin would even let them compete as he said it would be
embarrassing for them to compete without their nations symbols (Dunbar, Graham). Now, the

2018 Winter Olympics are over and we saw that Putin did allow the Olympic Athletes from

Russia to compete and that the Olympics did uphold the stipulations put on then. Also, in the

2018 Paralympics there were some stipulations for the paralympic athletes. The Russian athletes

had to pass a very rigorous drug test. They also were only allowed to send about half of their

normal team and they were not allowed to compete as Russian paralympic athletes. They had to

compete as “Neutral Paralympic Athletes”. These decisions were not made by the International

Olympic Committee, but by the Paralympic Committee (Ruiz, Rebecca R). The Russians have

seen many consequences for their actions, but yet it is still not enough.

You may be asking, “They have see so many feats because of this, why do you

think it still is not enough?”. Personally, I am struggling with the thought of is anyone clean?”

and I know many of my classmates are also thinking the same thing. If the Russians have been a

part of a state-run doping scheme for years and even decades, then who else in the world has

been using these illegal drugs? For all we, the public know, there are athletes doping from every

country they just have not been caught yet. The Russian doping being brought to light hopefully

has caused other athletes doping to realize they can be caught too. Yes, the Russians have faced

repercussions for years now, but it just is not enough. The International Olympics Committee has

let them off with almost a slap on the wrist. Yes, the Russians this year had to compete without

any ties to their country, but every person still knows what country they are from and in a way

they are still representing Russia. The drugs they were using were not only illegal, but also

harmful, yet the athletes do interviews and look like they have no remorse. Grigory Rodchenkov

clearly is not sorry for what he has done, but he is proud of himself. He is proud of his genius

mind and how far him and the Russian athletes have come. The difference between the illegal
drugs the Russian’s were using and the legal drugs like protein and amino acids is that one is

illegal and one is not. Proteins and amino acids have been proven to not give athletes significant

benefits while the concoction used by the Russians has. Is it not fair how some drugs can be seen

as okay and others no? Yes, absolutely. Those harsher drugs can be more harmful and can give

athletes an upper hand that not every athlete in the worl is able to get. Protein and amino acids?

You can buy those at any drug store right off the shelf. They are available to everyone and not

just athletes. The Russians were using those illegal drugs and yes, need to face the repercussions.

It is almost as though they need to be the “lesson”. The Olympics is a worldwide event that is

supposed to bring every person in the world together, but if the IOC lets them off with a warning,

every other team will think it is okay to dope their athletes. The Russians need to be an example

for all countries and they should not be let back into the olympics so easily.

In conclusion, the Russian should have been banned from the 2018 Winter

Olympics and from representing their country because of the doping accusations because, even

though there are athletes using legal drugs, the drugs the Russian athletes were using were

illegal. Those drugs are illegal for a reason and if the Olympic committee does not punish the

Russians hard enough, what is to stop other countries from doping. In the world there are many

types of drugs, those being legal supplements and substances and illegal and banned drugs and

substances. Athletes take pride in their sports and want to succeed, and sometimes that means

putting those banned substances into their bodies to win, which is not moral or ethical. When did

sport become not just sport? When was it all about winning gold medals? We may never know,

but we do know there are bans on substances for a reason and if athletes are found of doping,

they deserve to be severely punished and to find themselves disappointed and deprived of their
sport. If athletes want to compete and win, they should be doing it in the utmost respectful way.

Clean.
 Works Cited

Deldicque, Louise, and Marc Francaux. “Potential Harmful Effects of Dietary Supplements in

Sports Medicine.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic

Care, vol. 19, no. 6, 2016, pp. 439–445.

Dunbar, Graham. “IOC Bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics; Agency Punishes Nation for

2014 Systematic Doping.; WINTER OLYMPICS.” Dayton Daily News, 6

Dec. 2017, pp. 1–2.

Jenkins, David M., and Harbert, Allison J.. “Supplements and sports.” American Family

Physician, vol. 78, no. 9, 2008, pp. 1039-1046.

Juhn, Mark S. “Popular Sports Supplements and Ergogenic Aids.” Sports Medicine, vol. 33, no.

12, 2003, pp. 921–939.

Ruiz, Rebecca R. “Paralympics Upholds Ban on Russia for Doping.” The New York Times, 30

Jan. 2018, pp. 1–3.

Ruiz, Rebecca R, and Ivan Nechepurenko. “Russia Barred From Track in Rio Games.” The New

York Times, 18 June 2016, pp. 1–3.

Ruiz, Rebecca R, and Michael Schwirtz. “Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled

Olympic Gold.” The New York Times, 12 May 2016, pp. 1–7.