BIG NEWS FOR BIG DUDES... we know that this old news, but who can't resist beating a dead horse... we'll kick you dog too!

When one of your athletes tests positive for a banned substance, and you know the athlete is not a cheat, what do you do? Iñigo Mujika decided to challenge the test.
The substance in this instance was erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone released by the kidney to control production of red blood cells. Injections of recombinant EPO (rEPO) produce major enhancements of endurance performance by increasing transport of oxygen to exercising muscles. Detection of trace amounts of injected rEPO in urine is the basis of the test.
To Mujika the test was obviously wrong, so his first question was this: what's the false positive rate? It turned out that there isn't one. Apparently the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), which oversees drug tests of athletes, did not see the need to determine the false positive rate or identify factors that might increase the false positive rate. Mujika's enquiries revealed one such factor: long hard exercise, which can result in an increase in the concentration of proteins in urine, including either EPO itself or other proteins that the EPO test erroneously identifies as rEPO. Mujika's athlete tested positive after an Ironman triathlon. He soon got her acquitted. Three other athletes have been exonerated recently under similar circumstances. You can read the full story and keep abreast of new developments at the Cycling News site...

Will G Hopkins, Sport and Recreation, AUT University, Auckland 1020, New Zealand. Email. Sportscience 9, 22-23, 2005 (sportsci.org/jour/05/inbrief.htm#EPO). Reviewed by Iñigo Mujika, Mediplan Sport, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain. Published Dec 7, 2005. ©2005