Doping Health and Sports
January 18, 2008
This is to please one of my readers!
Brigitte McMahon Huber (born March 25, 1967 in Baar) is an athlete from Switzerland, who competed in triathlon.
McMahon competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal with a total time of 2:00:40.52, which is still (as of 2005) the fastest time for a female in an Olympic triathlon. Her split times were 19:44.58 for the swim, 1:05:42.30 for the cycling and 0:35:13.64 for the run.
Huber competed at the second Olympic triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing tenth with a total time of 2:07:07.73.
McMahon tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) doping during a competition in June 2005, though she maintains that she did not begin doping until well after the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she won her gold medal. She was immediately removed from the Swiss national team and was facing a two-year ban from triathlon when she retired.
n sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, particularly those forbidden by organizations that regulate competitions. Another form of doping is blood doping, either by blood transfusion or use of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). Also considered “doping” by many is the use of substances that mask other forms of doping.[citation needed]
Doping is considered unethical by most international sports organizations and especially the International Olympic Committee. The reasons are mainly the health threat of performance-enhancing drugs, the equality of opportunity of the athletes and the exemplary effect of “clean” (doping-free) sports in the public.
This entry concerns the doping of humans. In horses races, polo, and greyhound racing, horses and greyhounds can also be doped.
