Subsequently, a modern pentathlon athlete was sanctioned in 1988 for the use of propranolol; As a result, and in part to counter this, modern pentathlon changed its competition to host all five sports on the same day. Therefore, the performance-reducing effects of beta blocking in running and swimming competitions more than outweighed the benefits of shooting performance. In Beijing in 2008, a pistol shooter won silver and bronze medals, but was disqualified for his abuse of propranolol. For London 2012, only shooting and archery prohibit beta-blockers.5 Stimulants used in sport since the ancient Olympic Games and involved in the deaths of cyclists at the 1960 Olympic Games and during the 1967 Tour of France have been banned “in competition” at the Olympic Games since 1968. The seven athletes sanctioned at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, four of whom won medals, took a stimulant, since then it has been found that between one and three athletes used stimulants prohibited at most subsequent Summer Olympics. Pseudoephedrine, which was removed from the list in 2004, was reinstated in 2010 with a urinary threshold of 150 μg/ml due to evidence of abuse by athletes and recent confirmation that it could improve mileage.3 2. Artificial improvement in oxygen absorption, transport or supply. Including, but not limited to: perfluorinated chemicals; efaprombaal (RSR13) and modified haemoglobin products, e.g. haemoglobin-based blood substitutes and microencapsulated haemoglobin products, excluding additional oxygen by inhalation. THE EOTs for beta-blockers, which are only needed in sports they prohibit, are mainly approved for serious heart disease.
Therefore, cardioselective beta-blockers are prescribed, which would be less beneficial for reducing tremors than propranolol. Nevertheless, permission for their use in shooting competitions is rarely, if ever, granted. Other indications for beta-blockers, including essential tremors, high blood pressure and migraines, should not be approved for use in sports; Instead, permissible alternatives should be prescribed. Diuretics Diuretics are prohibited in all sports, both during training and during competition. sports in which competition is based on weight classes limit the use of diuretics due to their ability to artificially and temporarily reduce plasma volume; Therefore, placing an athlete in a different weight class could provide a competitive advantage. Diuretics are also generally banned as they can be used to quickly reduce the detection of certain doping agents (e.g. anabolic steroids) before doping tests. All diuretics, including loop diuretics (furosemide, torsemide and bumetanide), thiazide diuretics, spironolactone and vaptane are prohibited (Figure 1).3 The list of prohibited substances and methods (list) indicates which substances and methods are prohibited in sports and when. “Shooting doesn`t depend on improving physical performance,” says shooter Gagan Narang. “It`s a matter of control, and so in this sport called beta-blockers, various banned substances are banned.” Glucocorticoids sometimes need to be given to athletes for medical reasons, such as the treatment of inflammatory diseases and sports injuries. Beta-blockers appear to be particularly good performance enhancers if the performance in question is an anxiety-provoking public environment.
This is because much of the fear of appearing in public comes from the worry that fear will become outwardly apparent. Most people who worry about public speaking, for example, don`t worry about cursing their lines, stumbling and falling when they approach the podium, or giving a one-hour speech on TV with their pants open. They fear that their fear will become obvious to the public. They are afraid that their hands will tremble, that their voices will become high and trembling, and that beads of sweat will appear on their foreheads and upper lip, like Richard Nixon trying to explain Watergate. That`s why beta-blockers are so useful; People who have taken a drug that blocks the external effects of their anxiety become less anxious – not because the drug affects their brain, but because their worst fears don`t come true. Levosalbutamol (also known as levalbuterol) is prohibited at all times because it is a beta-2 agonist. This drug is different from the regularly prescribed salbutamol. Salbutamol consists of the racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers. Levosalbutamol consists only of the enantiomer R. Unlike salbutamol, there are no exceptions to the use of levosalbutamol based on a therapeutic dose. Before using levosalbutamol, an exemption from therapeutic use must be requested and granted. But it remains a substance banned from all competitive sports, but prohibited from use outside competition only by archery and shooting – two precision sports.
There is a special section in the “Prohibited List” of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code dedicated to “beta-blockers”. It is essentially a blocking agent that lowers blood pressure during times of extreme stress. This becomes relevant for precision sports such as shooting. A firm hand, free of nerve contractions, is crucial to successful shooting. And beta-blockers can do this in pressure situations. Other drugs Anabolic steroids, growth factors (p. e.g., insulin-1-like growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor), certain beta-2 agonists, and other hormones (e.g., aromatase inhibitors, anti-estrogens) are still prohibited. Stimulants, opioids, cannabinoids and glucocorticoids (including prednisone) are prohibited in competition. Clonidine, although listed as a stimulant but often used for high blood pressure, is an exception and is not prohibited. Beta-blockers have been around since the 1960s, but it took a while for someone to realize how useful they were for performance anxiety. The first performers to start using them widely were probably musicians, especially classical musicians, whose hands can become sweaty or tremble during a concert.
In the mid-70s, a team of British researchers tested the effects of a beta-blocker on the performance of experienced violinists and other string musicians. They ensured that the musicians played in maximum stressful conditions by booking them in an impressive concert hall. They also invited the press to participate and recorded all the meetings. The musicians were invited to perform four times each, twice on placebo and twice on beta-blockers, and their performances were evaluated by professional judges. Not only did the musicians tremble less on the beta-blocker, but they also showed better performance. Usually, the improvement was minimal, but for a handful of musicians, it was dramatic. Beta-blockers, along with the stimulant Ritalin and some Parkinson`s drugs, are now considered “smart drugs” because some people believe they can increase alertness and improve test performance for high school and college students. As in all sports, shooting, despite its pristine record, is constantly under surveillance.
And Narang was duly called up for a urine test after winning bronze in the 10-meter air rifle competition at the London Olympics. However, these tests sometimes provide bizarre anecdotes. Over time, knowledge about drugs, both legal and illegal in the country of origin, becomes known. But for a sport that involves widespread travel for competitions, athletes will find online the information they want about foreign alternatives. In particular, one website, GlobalDro (short for Global Drug Reference Online), tracks WADA`s no-ban list and informs athletes about which drugs are legal for them in certain countries, as well as the equivalent for each drug in different countries. For example, paracetamol in India might be known by a different name overseas. Robinson and Hansen both believe that beta-blockers are worth taking because of performance anxiety. WaDA also classifies these banned substances based on when they can be taken. The listed classes of drugs may have an acceptable useful life. They define “in competition” prohibition as the prohibition of drugs within the hour that begins just before midnight (at 11:59 p.m.) the day before a contest until the end of the contest and sampling process.
WADA defines substances banned “at all times” as substances that are prohibited both in and out of competition. Beta-blockers are banned in competition, while diuretics are still banned. In this article, I review some of the prohibited classes of substances and methods and their likely impact on athletic performance, and discuss examples of their abuse known to Olympic athletes. I am also exploring specific aspects of the concept that athletes get permission to take prohibited drugs while participating in major sporting events, with a focus on the Olympics.