World Championships, Milan 25th August 2003
Although many national federations now strongly advise against it, the use of nutritional supplements and energy drinks/bars is still a popular way for rowers to try and bulk up, add strength and increase power.
This apparently innocent addition to training may now have affected one team in the worst possible way, with the suspension of three oarsmen who were hoping to go to next year's Olympics.
This morning it was announced that Martin Kobau, Helfried Jurtschitsch and Norbert Lambing were all under suspension after testing positive during a drugs check taken on August 1st and announced on August 19th. As a result, 1998 bronze medallist Lambing was substituted in the AUT men's heavyweight quad, while Jurtschitsch and 2001 world champion Kobau saw their lightweight men's coxless four withdrawn from racing altogether.
The culprit, according to the Austrian national federation, seems to be an energy supplement named Mega Ribosyn 1100, which is supposed to contain ribose (a sugar), L-glutamine, and old rowing favourite creatine. Austrian sprint hurdler Elmar Lichteneggar has recently tested positive for banned steroid norandrosterone, which he claims is due to contaminated Mega Ribosyn. In fact the Austrian federation has had an unopened packet of Mega Ribosyn tested, and shown that it did contain traces of the steroid. Dr. Karl Heinz Demel, chairman of the Austrian anti-doping committee, has declared that all four cases can only be due to contamination, and appeals are expected to result.
This is no consolation for the three rowers, two of whom will now have to watch eleven of the Olympic qualification places for the M4- being given away this week, while they have to wait to try and qualify for Athens by finishing first or second next year in Lucerne - and that is only if their case is proven and FISA do not ban them from competition for life. As soon as the three rowers' results were known on August 19th, FISA sprang a surprise test on the whole of the rest of the Austrian team, as part of its strong anti-doping programme. All the other tests were negative.
"The British team doctors have given the advice to avoid supplements since 1996", said Di Ellis, chairman of the Amateur Rowing Association, today, while Matthew Pinsent was quoted in a recent Guardian interview as saying "In this climate [of IOC testing] I tend to avoid powdered products". Sensible guy.