Athletes plea for talks over thyroid drug use
Pavey and Co want their say on Salazar and use of thyroxine
BRITISH athletes, including European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey, are increasing the pressure on authorities to investigate UK Athletics’ decision to use Alberto Salazar — now banned from the sport — as a consultant from 2013 to 2017 as part of their review of the governing body.
The UKA Athletes’ Commission is understood to have met UK Sport to discuss the issue, with a groundswell of athletes now keen to speak to an inquiry. Pavey has added her voice, saying she would like to speak to any review.
Former 800m GB runner Emma Jackson, who last week revealed she believes high levels of thyroxine, prescribed while under the care of a UKA doctor, ruined her elite career, says she would also talk about her experiences.
UK Sport, the government body overseeing lottery funding, appointed Dame Sue Street to review UKA last month, examining wider issues of governance.
Once this initial review reports, there will be a decision on whether to investigate further issues, such as Salazar’s role.
The Mail on Sunday understand that Street met with the UKA Athletes’ Commission, t he body which represents athletes, as part of her review last week and a number of areas of concern were raised, including the issue of thyroid screening and the role of Alberto Salazar. It means that when Street delivers her initial judgement on the efficacy of UKA next month, there will be significant pressure to further investigate Salazar’s role and speak again to athletes.
In addition, UKA have already commissioned barrister John Mehrzad to investigate the decision to retain Salazar as a consultant in 2015, after revelations regarding possible breaches of anti-doping laws were publicised.
The 2015 revelations about Salazar’s t raining methods on BBC’s Panorama helped form the basis of the anti-doping charge that earned him a four-year ban. UKA persisted with him as a consultant for another two years, during which time he remained Sir Mo Farah’s coach. Salazar is appealing his ban.
Pavey, the 2014 European 10,000m champion, believes there should be a more wide-ranging investigation into how Salazar operated during his time at UKA and especially has a concern about the thyroid medication, thyroxine, which was commonly used by Salazar.
Apparently he believed it aided weight loss and sped up metabolism to aid harder training.
Thyroxine isn’t banned as the World Anti-Doping Agency do not believe it is performance enhancing, but there are fears it is now commonly used by distance runners. Pavey wants i t on t he WADA banned list and only administered with a therapeutic use exemption.
Pavey said: ‘Though I never saw any issues with UKA doctors, there should be an ongoing review into Alberto Salazar’s time at UKA and I would be happy to speak about this and the use of thyroxine.’
Jackson, whose experience relates to 2011-2014, before Salazar was a consultant but when he was a coach of Farah, was prescribed high levels of thyroxine by UKA doctor Rob Chakraverty, who is now England football team doctor.
Jackson has a thyroid deficiency and needed thyroxine. There is no suggestion that Chakraverty gave her the drug without good reason. The questions are over the levels at which he told Jackson to take thyroxine over a sustained period.
She believes that the doses caused t he over t raining, personality changes and ultimately the stress fractures which ended her career. Jackson says that an independent doctor described the levels of thyroxine prescribed as ‘through the roof’ when he assessed them in 2014 and told her to halve them immediately.
Jackson said: ‘I would be more than happy to speak to any review of UKA to tell them about my experiences. The main reason is to let people know that if they are still prescribing thyroxine, athletes understand what they’re doing. It’s not a weight loss tool. It’s a hormone that speeds up your whole system and can be quite dangerous.’ Dr Chakraverty has said: ‘It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the treatment of any athlete, but it is standard process to monitor bone density in athletes who have stress fractures and if these tests are normal, then this would not highlight a specific risk factor that needed addressing.
‘All elite athletes have screening tests for a range of medical conditions — including thyroid issues.
‘This medical screening is standard process and helps us to manage their health and medical care proactively and is not aimed at performance enhancement. Athletes with abnormal results are managed in accordance with usual medical practice and where appropriate NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines.’
The FA have said: ‘We are aware of the allegations and will work with the relevant parties to understand the details of the claim. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.’
A UK Sport spokesperson said: “The Terms of Reference for the [UKA] review identify a wide range of stakeholders to consult as part of this initial discovery phase. Among those identified are the individuals on the UKA Athletes’ Commission, who provide a voice for international athletes across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Any athlete who would like to provide evidence to this initial review should contact the UKA Athletes’ Commission”.
UKA declined to comment but pointed out the Mehrzad review they commissioned will be delivered soon. They deny any suggestion that any UKA staff sought to gain a performance advantage.