In April 2019 the New Zealand powerlifter Hinewai Hausman was sanctioned for 4 years after she tested positive for the prohibited substance Clenbuterol. In April 2023, Nine days before the Athlete's period of inelgibility was due to expire, she was tested by Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ).

Hereafter in June 2023 DFSNZ reported a new anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete after she tested positive for multiple prohibited substances: 19-norandrosterone (Nandrolone), Drostanolone, Metenolone and Oxandrolone.

Following notification the Athlete gave a prompt admission for her second violation, waived her right for a hearing, accepted the provisional suspension and the sanction proposed by DFSNZ. Accordingly the case was referred to the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand and requested to render an appropriate decision.

The Tribunal deems that the Athlete had committed a second anti-doping rule violation. Because the Athlete gave a prompt admission and accepted her sanction she received a 1 year reduction from the Tribunal.

Therefore the Tribunal decides on 26 July 2023 to impose a 7 year period of inelgibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 23 June 2023.

In November 2023 Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the archer Robert Knight after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Metoprolol. After the positive test the Athlete made an application for a TUE, yet this application was rejected.

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand.

The Athlete admitted the violation, denied the intentional use of the substance and argued that he acted with No Significant Fault or Negligence. He explained that he had used Metoprolol as prescribed medication for his diagnosed condition and that he was unaware that this medication contained a prohibited substance.

He asserted that his doctor knew that he was a competitive archer. Previously in 2010 he had discussed the anti-doping rules with her and she has had assisted in his TUE application.

DFSNZ accepted that the violation was not intentional. Nevertheless it deems that the Athlete failed to demonstrate that he acted with No Significant Fault or Negligence.

The Tribunal agrees that the Athlete's violation was not intentional and that there are no grounds for a reduced sanction. The Panel determines that there was no evidence that the Athlete's doctor was an expert in sports medicine and that this was the basis on which he relied on her medical advice.

Therefore the Tribunal decides on 5 April 2024 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 10 November 2023.

In November 2023 Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the powerlifter Chris Kennedy after his A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance Methylphenidate (Ritalinic Acid).

Following notification a provisional suspension was ordered and the Athlete filed a statement in his defence. The Sports Tribunal of New Zealand rendered a decision based on the written submissions of the Parties.

The Athlete admitted the use of the substance and asserted that it was used out-of-competition, 3 days before the competition. He claimed that he was entitled to coach clients in powerlifting during the provisional suspension because they were not competitive athletes, nor subjected to the Rules.

DFSNZ contended that the Athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation and accepted that the violation was not intentional. It rejected the Athlete's explanations regarding his coaching of clients during the provisional suspension.

DFSNZ established that at least one client was member of the New Zealand Powerlifting Federation. Also it established that this client had recently participated as powerlifter in a competition.

In view of the evidence the Tribunal concludes that the Athlete's violation was not intentional. Furthermore the Tribunal deems that the Athlete breached the provisional suspension through coaching clients.

Therefore the Tribunal decides on 25 March 2024 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the decision.

In November 2023 Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) reported an anti-doping rule violation against the rugby player Evaan Reihana after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Cocaine.

Following notification the Athlete admitted the violation, denied the intentional use of the substance and accepted the sanction proposed by DFSNZ. DFSNZ accepted that the violation was not intentional and that the use of Cocaine occurred out-of-competition.

The Athlete acknowledged that he had used the substance out-of-competition the day before the competition to cope with a family crisis.

The Tribunal assessed the joint memorandum of counsel and agrees that the Athlete's violation was not intentional and occurred out-of-competition in a context unrelated to sport performance. The Tribunal further determines that there is no need to order a Provisional Suspension and deems that there are no grounds to redact the name of the recreational Athlete from this decision.

Therefore the Tribunal decides on 20 December 2023 to impose a 3 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the decision.

Stability of Oxandrolone in Medium-Chain Triglyceride Oil and Pharmacokinetics Following Buccal Administration of the Extemporaneous Formulation in Neonates and Adults / Matthew W. Linakis, Joseph E. Rower, Susan Sorenson, Christopher A. Reilly, Linda M. Lambert, Richard V. Williams, Phillip T. Burch. - (Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics 25 (2020) 3 (1 April); p. 220-227)

• PMID: 32265605
• PMCID: PMC7134583
• DOI: 10.5863/1551-6776-25.3.220

Abstract

Objectives: Growth failure following surgical palliation of complex congenital heart defects (CHDs) is a prognosticator of poor outcomes. Many strategies for improving weight gain have been implemented in this population, with limited success. We recently described the potential of the anabolic steroid oxandrolone to improve weight gain following surgical repair of CHD when administered via a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil suspension to the buccal mucosa. The current study evaluates the stability of oxandrolone in the MCT oil formulation, as well as the pharmacokinetics of oxandrolone when administered via buccal mucosa in both neonates and adults.

Methods: Stability was assessed by long-term storage of the preparation 1) at ambient conditions and 2) under photodegradative conditions for 3 days. Neonatal pharmacokinetic parameters were determined in a cohort of neonates following surgical CHD repair, whereas adult pharmacokinetics parameters were collected as part of a prospective study to evaluate the relative bioavailability of the oxandrolone in MCT oil formulation.

Results: We found that oxandrolone was stable in the MCT oil formulation for at least 1 month, although exposure to light hastened drug degradation. Both neonatal and adult oxandrolone pharmacokinetics were variable; however, oxandrolone in MCT oil was relatively well absorbed through the buccal mucosa (mean bioavailability = 62.5%).

Conclusions: These data suggest that the variability in oxandrolone exposures is inherent to the drug, and not the formulation or route of administration. Combined, these data support further study of this novel oxandrolone in MCT oil formulation and its impact on growth following complex surgical repair of CHD in neonates.

Stanozolol-N-glucuronide metabolites in human urine samples as suitable targets in terms of routine anti-doping analysis / Lorenz Göschl, Günter Gmeiner, Peter Gärtner, Georg Stadler, Valentin Enev, Mario Thevis, Wilhelm Schänzer, Sven Guddat, Guro Forsdahl. - (Drug Testing and Analysis (2021) 5 June)

• PMID: 34089570
• DOI: 10.1002/dta.3109

Abstract

The exogenous anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) stanozolol stays one of the most detected substances in professional sports. Its detection is a fundamental part of doping analysis, and the analysis of this steroid has been intensively investigated for a long time. This contribution to the detection of stanozolol doping describes for the first time the unambiguous proof for the existence of 17-epistanozolol-1'N-glucuronide and 17-epistanozolol-2'N-glucuronide in stanozolol-positive human urine samples due to the access to high-quality reference standards. Examination of excretion study samples shows large detection windows for the phase-II metabolites stanozolol-1'N-glucuronide and 17-epistanozolol-1'N-glucuronide up to 12 days and respectively up to almost 28 days. In addition, we present appropriate validation parameters for the analysis of these metabolites using a fully automatic method online solid-phase extraction (SPE) method already published before. Limits of identification (LOIs) as low as 100 pg/ml and other validation parameters like accuracy, precision, sensitivity, robustness, and linearity are given.

Statement from National Anti-Doping Organisations on Russia Compliance Deadline / Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Anti-Doping Denmark (ADD), Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS) Antidoping Norge, [...] et al. . - 2019

NADO Leaders acknowledge the January 1, 2019 Release from WADA outlining the current status of the management of anti-doping compliance matters in Russia.

With a view to its 31 December 2018 deadline for Russia to provide the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with the critical LIMS data from the Moscow Laboratory, the anti-doping world fully expects a decisive response in support of the clean athletes of the world. After more than three years of review, indecision and compromise in response to the worst doping scandal in the history of sport, the time has come to demonstrate that no individual nor nation is exempt from compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.

On 20 September 2018 the WADA Executive Committee created an opportunity by providing a new opportunity for Russia to demonstrate interest in protecting the rights of clean athletes and a willingness to play by the rules. Russia has failed to meet its obligations. Therefore, we now call on WADA to stand firm, enforce the missed deadline and move without delay towards a decision in this matter. Recognizing WADA had previously scheduled a Compliance Review Committee meeting on January 14-15, 2019, NADO Leaders now call on WADA to acknowledge the gravity of this missed deadline and call for an immediate review and recommendation from the CRC.

We recognise RUSADA has been working with WADA in an effort to resolve these issues, but the conditions agreed on 20 September 2018 were unequivocal and without the data there can be only one outcome. The importance of this situation does not warrant providing a further two weeks for Russia to comply. With the interest of clean sport hanging in the balance, WADA must call for CRC to convene and consider this matter without further delay.

In October 2018 NADO Leaders signalled our steadfast commitment to the global athlete community in support of clean sport. Today, that commitment is stronger than ever, and that is why we believe Russia must be held accountable for its continuing failure to comply. A return to international sport should only be considered for Russia once full confidence in a clean Russian sporting culture is restored – in other words, only once WADA has received and verified the electronic LIMS data as well as access to the samples in the Moscow Laboratory.

NADO Leaders implore WADA to use its full authority and resources to expedite this matter.

This Statement is supported by the National Anti-Doping Organisations of: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, and USA.

Statistical significance of hair analysis of clenbuterol to discriminate therapeutic use from contamination / Aniko Krumbholz, Patricia Anielski, Lena Gfrerer, Matthias Graw, Hans Geyer, Wilhelm Schänzer, Jiri Dvorak, Detlef Thieme. (Drug testing and analysis 6 (2014) 11-12 (November-December); p. 1108-1116)

• PMID: 25388545.
• DOI: 10.1002/dta.1746

Abstract

Clenbuterol is a well-established β2-agonist, which is prohibited in sports and strictly regulated for use in the livestock industry. During the last few years clenbuterol-positive results in doping controls and in samples from residents or travellers from a high-risk country were suspected to be related the illegal use of clenbuterol for fattening. A sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to detect low clenbuterol residues in hair with a detection limit of 0.02 pg/mg. A sub-therapeutic application study and a field study with volunteers, who have a high risk of contamination, were performed. For the application study, a total dosage of 30 µg clenbuterol was applied to 20 healthy volunteers on 5 subsequent days. One month after the beginning of the application, clenbuterol was detected in the proximal hair segment (0-1 cm) in concentrations between 0.43 and 4.76 pg/mg. For the second part, samples of 66 Mexican soccer players were analyzed. In 89% of these volunteers, clenbuterol was detectable in their hair at concentrations between 0.02 and 1.90 pg/mg. A comparison of both parts showed no statistical difference between sub-therapeutic application and contamination. In contrast, discrimination to a typical abuse of clenbuterol is apparently possible. Due to these findings results of real doping control samples can be evaluated.

Steroid Madness - has the dark side of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) been over-stated? / Kyle J.D Mulrooney, Katinka van de Ven, Jim McVeigh, Rick Collins. - (Performance Enhancement & Health 6 (2019) 3-4 (June); p. 98-102).

• DOI: 10.1016/j.peh.2019.03.001

Introduction

Recently the journal Performance Enhancement & Health put out a call to produce a special issue on the dark side of human enhancement, including the use of legal and illegal substances, leading usto ponder whether the “dark side” of anabolic-androgenic steroids (from here on, “steroids”) has been overstated. In this commentary, we will briefly engage with this question by unpacking what we describe here as the “narrative of harm”, which tends to dominate discourses on steroid use in wider society. We then consider analternative perspective on steroid use which focuses on the users’ experience and understanding, with particular attention to the role of pleasure. Finally, we conclude by exploring some of the negative policy consequences arising from the dominance of the “narrative of harm” and advance a regulatory approach grounded in rational and research informed discussions around both the pleasures andpains of steroid use.

A more developed version of this argument can be found in the forthcoming collection Human Enhancement Drugs, published by Routledge in 2019 (Mulrooney, van de Ven, McVeigh, & Collins, 2019).

Steroidgebrauch bei Freizeit-Bodybuildern = Steroid Use in Free Time Bodybuilders / Felicitas Michels-Lucht, Jan Schirmer, Thomas Klauer, Harald Freyberger, Michael Lucht. - (Psychotherie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie 61(2011) 12; 512-517)

• DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1295454

Abstract

A sample of 74 male bodybuilders was analyzed for relationships between steroid abuse (abuse n=31; no abuse n=43) and self-esteem (Multidimensionale Selbstwertskala MSWS), body-image (Body-Image Questionnaire FK-ASA) as well as teasing (Physical Appearance Related Teasing Scale PARTS). In a logistic regression analysis age (p=0.001), low values for body expression (p=0.036) and high self-esteem (p=0.024) predicted steroid intake; training frequency or teasing experiences showed no effect. Contrary to earlier findings high and not low self-esteem was associated with steroid abuse. Because of the overlap between constructs narcissism and self-esteem further studies should disentangle the role of narcissism and self-esteem for steroid abuse in bodybuilders.