Summer Olympian

Click here for the Lead Stories

Possible New Banned Olympic Substances: Deer Penis and Turtle Blood

Posted April 1, 2008 at 08:06 AM by Michael J. Sedor

Section: Beijing 2008, Doping, Culture/History, Socio-Political, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

Northpark Turtles In what must somehow be April Fools Day related, Bloomberg.com media service reports today that “Deer penis, turtle blood and angelica root potions have joined steroids and amphetamines on the list of banned drugs for Chinese Olympians.” Rather than risk an Olympic drug ban Chinese athletes are turning toward less exotic health aides like protein shakes and vitamins.

The drug scare against centuries-old traditional remedies is not without precedent. In the early 1990’s Chinese female distance runners took the track world by storm, shattering world records and drawing accusations from all directions. Qu Yunxia’s 1500m and Wang Junxia 3000m set records in 1993 have yet to be broken. At the time their controversial coach Ma Junren adamantly insisted that their secret training ingredient was a caterpillar fungus, Cordyceps sinensis. This traditional medicine allegedly boosted speed, stamina, and balanced a racer’s yin and yang. The naysayers were proven correct, however, in 2000 when Qu and Wang tested positive for other more Western and more illegal performance enhancers.

The shady dealings of Ma’s Army aside, we wonder why exactly are multiple-millennia old medicines banned? If I want to remove toxins why can’t I ground up some kidneys? If I want to strengthen my legs why can’t I eat some animal legs? A Peking researcher posits that when traditional medicines combine they might chemically produce a World-Anti Doping Agency-banned substance while WADA offers “Many such concoctions are derived from herbal products and some prohibited substances do originate from plants.’’

Which brings us back to our first question. If human beings have been using a naturally-derived substance to aid their breathing, energy, and stamina since becoming familiar with the plant’s properties - be it 2,000 years ago, 10,000 years ago, or even longer - then why are they banned from competitive use today? How many competitors would WADA have banned from the Ancient Olympic Games for natural remedies prescribed by Krateuas or found in the De Materia Medica? Could any of the banned Chinese remedies, like ma huang (ephedra), have even found their way to a herb salesman in the ancient Athenian agora and into a star wrestler’s blood stream? And why would that wrestler’s quest for a natural performance aid be against the spirit of competition?

Photo by Jimmie R. Markham.