Olympian almost sanctioned over medicine for dog

Nowhere in the complex labyrinth of rules, bylaws and interpretations that govern the global anti-doping system did anyone see this warning: Beware of Dog Medicine.

Katerina Nash, a mountain biker and cross-country skier who represented the Czech Republic in two Winter and three Summer Olympics, avoided a four-year doping sanction after minute traces of a banned substance showed up in her system. Authorities determined the substance got there through her skin during the messy struggles she faced in forcing medicine drops down the throat of her ailing dog, a Vizsla named Rubi.

Despite not receiving a sanction, Nash’s encounter with antidoping authorities still went on the books Thursday.

“It’s devastating to think that, like, not washing my hands could ruin my entire career, being an athlete for 30 years,” Nash said. “But there’s no regrets. I would not have cared for my dog in any different way. But in the end, I was touching this medicine every day for about three straight weeks.”

Nash lives in California and was tested by authorities from the U.S. Anti-doping Agency. The results that showed up several days later at USADA offices raised eyebrows. A trace amount (0.07 billionths of a gram per milliliter) of a substance called capromorelin had shown up in Nash’s urine. Though the amount was minuscule, it was enough to trigger an adverse finding. And though capromorelin isn’t specifically mentioned on the banned list, it still falls in the category of“other”prohibited substances that are related to human-growth hormone.