Reports from Greece indicate elite Greek weightlifters were nailed with nasty anabolic steroids last week. A Greek athletic site discusses the doping situation (Hellenic Athletes):
More details have emerged in the doping scandal that has once again rocked Greece, as well as news this morning that the "B" sample results are expected next Wednesday.
Three types of substances have reportedly been detected in the 11 Greek weightlifters whose “A” samples came back positive.
The first is reported to be methyltrienolone, a potent anabolic steroid. This particular substance had been linked in the late 1960’s to as many
as 200 deaths, due to high toxicity of the liver, and was withdrawn a few years later.The second substance is reported to be an opiate, used to purge the body of the drug-addiction tendencies of methyltrienolone.
The third is reported to be an estrogen suppressor, which resembles testosterone
However, there could be tainted supplements involved (but not likely):
Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, the lawyer for head coach Christos Iakovou, who is expected to speak on Monday, has issued a statement from Iakovou of blanket denial, saying that neither the coaches, athletes or team pharmacologists had any knowledge of the illegal substances, and said that the team had used the Chinese supplements since before last year’s world championships in Thailand, and passed several tests -- laying the foundation, it would appear, on a tainted shipment defense.
Generally we assume a suspicious posture when someone plays the 'supplement defense' card; however supplements can be contaminated. Opiate and anti-androgen drugs would generally not be supplement contaminants.
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