SKorean pole vaulter Lim Eun-ji suspended for doping

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics ... 8111_x.htm

SKorean pole vaulter Lim Eun-ji banned for doping

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lim Eun-ji, South Korea's record-holder in the women's pole vault, has been suspended for three months after testing positive for a prohibited substance, the country's doping watchdog said Tuesday.
Also, Lee Kyong-jae, who won the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter event during a local athletics meet in May, tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine and was suspended for two years. He must forfeit his gold medal, the Korea Anti-Doping agency said in a statement.

Lim tested positive for the diuretics hydrochlorothiazide and chlorothiazide during the same meet, the doping watchdog said. She must forfeit the gold medal she won, too.

The 21-year-old Lim told a hearing on June 10 that she didn't intentionally take the banned substance and that some Oriental herbal medicines she had taken to cure her ankle injuries contained the diuretics, according to the Korea Association of Athletics Federation.

Lim, who has the national pole vault record of 4.35 meters and is seen as a strong contender to win a medal at the Asian Games this year in Guangzhou, China, has been suspended from June 10, the doping watchdog said.

[PoleVaultDoc]

Hydrochlorothiazide/chlorothiazide (aka "water pill") are commonly used medications for high blood pressure. They are diuretics, which cause the body to lose water. Diuretics are prohibited in sports because, in theory, they can dilute the urine and mask the detection of other banned substance; however diuretics alone do not enhance athletic performance in any way. Although Lim was suspended for "doping," I wouldn't be too quick to discount her accomplishments based on her testing positive for diuretics alone.

[vaultmd]

Hydrochlorothiazide/chlorothiazide (aka "water pill") are commonly used medications for high blood pressure. They are diuretics, which cause the body to lose water. Diuretics are prohibited in sports because, in theory, they can dilute the urine and mask the detection of other banned substance; however diuretics alone do not enhance athletic performance in any way. Although Lim was suspended for "doping," I wouldn't be too quick to discount her accomplishments based on her testing positive for diuretics alone.

It's been a long time since the nightmare called pharmacology; but my recollection is that HCTZ has a secondary effect of pulmonary vasodilation, an effect that the ER people used to quickly unload their congestive heart failure patients while they were trying to get the water out. Also, I know they use or used to use HCTZ in racing horses to improve performance.

While that secondary effect may not be directly related to vaulting, I can see why the governing bodies would monitor it and consider someone guilty until proven innocent for the masking effect alone. A young healthy athlete has no business having any of it on board.