THE ‘CHEATING’ DRUG NOT ON BANNED LIST
ALONGSIDE allegations of cheating by Mo Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar, the BBC’s Panorama documentary hinted at a prevailing culture within Nike’s Oregon Project of stretching ethical boundaries to breaking point. It revealed how world 10,000 metre bronze medallist Kara Goucher was prescribed a drug called levoxyl to treat an underactive thyroid, but then claimed Salazar encouraged her to take the stronger drug cytomel — which was originally prescribed for another of his athletes, Galen Rupp — when she was struggling to lose weight following the birth of her son. It is legal for athletes to take both of these drugs to treat a genuine medical condition, but many argue it is a ‘form of cheating’ for healthy athletes to take thyroid medication. Sportsmail has learned five current or former athletes at Salazar’s secretive training camp have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid — a condition which affects two per cent of the ordinary population and tends to affect middle-aged women. ‘It is either a massive coincidence or something else going on,’ said a prominent British coach. Liz McColgan, the former world 10,000m champion, believes the use of thyroxine, a hormonereplacement medication used to treat those with an underactive thyroid, is widespread among healthy athletes who are gaining an unfair advantage. There are suggestions thyroid medication could help athletes lose weight and act as a stimulant. Competitors, including former 1,500m Commonwealth champion Lisa Dobriskey, claimed British Athletics doctors would consider prescribing medication even when thyroid hormone levels fall within the ‘normal range’. There are concerns about the risks of the long-term use of thyroxine, with a leading doctor telling Sportsmail that athletes risk thinning of the bones and heart failure. McColgan, now a coach to daughter Eilish, the British 3,000m steeplechase No 1, said: ‘Its use (thyroxine) is so widespread that something needs to be done and it needs investigating. ‘There are people out there who are using it and gaining from it and that is a form of cheating.’ European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey said: ‘EPO and growth hormone started the same way, they were used to help people who had a genuine problem, but they were exploited by people looking to gain an advantage. ‘They were put on the banned list but thyroxine has been conveniently missed off that list.’ Thyroxine is not currently on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of prohibited drugs, but UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) are lobbying for it to be banned immediately. WADA’s Prohibited List Expert Group met in Montreal, Canada in April and discussed adding thyroxine to the banned list by August. A WADA spokesperson said: ‘To date, there has not been enough scientific information to suggest it should be added.’