Doping in XC skiing

[Discgear]

For all who understands Scandinavian: This is a first class interview with one of the most revered sport journalists in Sweden. Hope the link works.
http://www.dn.se/sport/dntv-med-johan-esk-johaugs-forklaring-fullstandigt-osannolik/

 

[abcdaniel]

Re:

When their traditional FIS/ADA protection falls away, perhaps their well oiled operation shifts back to outright amateur hour. They've never pleaded any such case.

The NSF has succeeded well with the cream spin. Having everyone talking about the cream and not about Thereses performances, is indeed professional PR on a high level.

The NSF has large resources, but I would think they still want to operate as efficiently as possible. Certainly, that is what I expect from an organisation supporting elite athletes chasing seconds, obsessing over and trying to improve every detail.

So Therese has sore lips, described as a recurring condition with an established treatment, the cream Terra-Cortril. Therese is having problem sleeping and is in great pain, but the cream is not in the team luggage. What I would expect from an efficient and professional organisation is to try and get Therese well as soon as possible. After all, the entire organisation exists to prepare Therese to perform at the maximum of human ability.

The doctor is familiar with her condition and can also judge her status through her description and through photos and video calls, even if he is back in Oslo and not in Livigno. After all this is recurring and familiar. If there were no other doctors at the Livigno camp, there was other trusted staff, coaches (or physios and the like) with some experience of the medical rigor required to medicate an elite athlete. I am sure they had access to a car or otherwise could rent one. There are several pharmacies along the main roads around Livigno. It would have taken an afternoon and cost a couple of 100 EUR in car rental and salary to get the medicine; if not in Italy, then across the border in Switzerland. Google Maps, https://www.google.se/maps/search/pharmacy/@46.3556231,10.2150466,11.06z, zoom out to see even more pharmacies.

The objective must be to get Therese well as soon as possible, so she can continue her training as efficiently as possible. If the staff at the camp is insecure about buying medicine in a foreign country, they can talk to the doctor over the phone and let him walk them through the purchase. Photos of the packaging and insert can be sent to the doctor for him to check, video calls can be done to really iron out any potential problem with the medication. That would cost a couple of 100 EUR more for the doctor’s salary.

If Sundby could allegedly get the diagnosis and go ahead over the phone form the doctor, for the five hour nebulizer treatment that got him caught in a doping test, certainly a doctor could walk Therese or a trusted coach or staff through the purchasing of her cream via phone or even through a video call?

If they still are insecure about getting her treatment, the Terra-Cortril cream, in a foreign country, they can order a same day express delivery, through DHL or other express delivery service. The doctor would then make a small package with Therese’s medicine, DHL would come pick it up and take it to Livigno. Perhaps they don’t do same day delivery Oslo-Livigno, but surely delivery could be done to St Moritz across the border. That would cost maybe 500-1000 EUR, including delivery, salary to the doctor and people maybe having to go to St Moritz. It would take a day.

The NSF didn’t do any of this. They waited a couple of days to get the doctor to the camp, letting Therese lose sleep and waste some of the camp’s potential for her training. The doctor arrived without the Terra-Cortril cream. Then the doctor waited yet another day to get the cream, wasting more of the camp’s potential for Therese’s training. The doctor didn’t even go around to the other pharmacies down the road to look for the right treatment, he just went to the one almost around the corner from the hotel. When he didn’t find the cream at that pharmacy, he bought another cream with a doping warning on the package. Cost for flying the doctor to the camp and paying his salary for several days of stay in Livigno, probably a couple of 1000 EUR.

 

[BullsFan22]

And more people need to wonder about how is possible for her urine sample to be positive for a LIP BALM?!? Are the Norwegian public not wondering about this?? If you put something on your lip, how can this get into your urine??? That's a simple red light. It's freaking obvious there is so much more to this, but the NSF PR machine is no doubt turning the wheels.

 

[Discgear]

acdaniel: Those are all valid points, further detronising the official "beautiful girl cries - world is unjust" story. Even Dukoff must see it's falling part.

 

[python]

below is my attempt at putting together the hard to fathom holes/question/ 'whys' regarding the official johaug story. it's a collection of many contributions of many posters, including some of my own. i attempted to stick only to what's known so far or can be traced to a source or a common sense. i stayed away from such subjective things as 'thick jaw etc...by all means add, and perhaps we can sticky either the separate thread or this post.

1. dr bendiksen:
a. why to fly to livigno at all/why the condition not handled from normay (next day shipment, consulting the in-place norges on what to buy how to treat...)
b.aware of the ailment yet flies to livigno w/o the usual johaug medication for her recurrent condition (terra-cortril)
c. takes over a day to travel 120 m to a pharmacy while his patient bleeds, lacks sleep...
d. upon learning of unavailability of terra-cortril in the pharmacy, fails to seek it in other local places (up to 20 available in the vicinity)
e. buys 2 creams, one of each has a clear 'doping' warning
f. fails to read or associate clostebol with a banned steroid
g. hands the 'doping'-marked trofodermin to johaug
h. a confusion ? one of the versions of trofodermin ('indian')is remarkably similar to terra-cortril
.......?????

2. johaug
a. fails to read the package clearly marked 'doping'
b. fails to exercise due diligence in researching the 'trofodermin/clostebol' term as required by wada
c. ability of the small skin area (lips) to absorb enough clostebol to produce an aaf.
(1st questioned by a finnish national team doctor)
d. incredible performances/rarely seen winning gaps of up to 5% during the entire season 20015-16.
e. never seen before progress in the sprint events well known to ill-suit her slander, miniature physiology
......?????

3. common to johaug and bendiksen
prior to being interviewed by adno separately, used 7 days to iron out the 'official' story
......?????

4. suspicious activities/statements/actions by the norwegian authorities from the start
a. instead of the wada norm, adno takes 6 days to impose the provisional suspension
b. contrary to the etiquette for an anti-doping agency and prior to completing (!) an investigation, adno prejudged a conclusion by announcing that clostebol concentration was consistent with cream application. such a prejudice blatantly side-steps the possibility of the drug injection or ingestion at the end of its clearance period from the body
c. consistent, coordinated, purposeful manipulation of the media promoting the 'official' story
d. general lack of credibility after attempting to cover up the sundby doping case most details of which are still held secret from the public
......???

please add

 

[Lyon]

Maybe the media will do a good job of keeping quiet, or get bored and stop asking questions or something else, but I hope more is uncovered

I think the media will quiet down after a while but I'm still hoping for someone to do some investigative journalism because now's the time. It feels like there is a window of opportunity where the Norwegian press will actually be taking you seriously. But who knows how long it will stay open?

 

[python]

Re:

below is my attempt at putting together the hard to fathom holes/question/ 'whys' regarding the official johaug story. it's a collection of many contributions of many posters, including some of my own. i attempted to stick only to what's known so far or can be traced to a source or a common sense. i stayed away from such subjective things as 'thick jaw etc...by all means add, and perhaps we can sticky either the separate thread or this post.

1. dr bendiksen:
a. why to fly to livigno at all/why the condition not handled from normay (next day shipment, consulting the in-place norges on what to buy how to treat...)
b.aware of the ailment yet flies to livigno w/o the usual johaug medication for her recurrent condition (terra-cortril)
c. takes over a day to travel 120 m to a pharmacy while his patient bleeds, lacks sleep...
d. upon learning of unavailability of terra-cortril in the pharmacy, fails to seek it in other local places (up to 20 available in the vicinity)
e. buys 2 creams, one of each has a clear 'doping' warning
f. fails to read or associate clostebol with a banned steroid
g. hands the 'doping'-marked trofodermin to johaug
h. a confusion ? one of the versions of trofodermin ('indian')is remarkably similar to terra-cortril
.......?????

2. johaug
a. fails to read the package clearly marked 'doping'
b. fails to exercise due diligence in researching the 'trofodermin/clostebol' term as required by wada
c. ability of the small skin area (lips) to absorb enough clostebol to produce an aaf.
(1st questioned by a finnish national team doctor)
d. incredible performances/rarely seen winning gaps of up to 5% during the entire season 20015-16.
e. never seen before progress in the sprint events well known to ill-suit her slander, miniature physiology
......?????

3. common to johaug and bendiksen
prior to being interviewed by adno separately, used 7 days to iron out the 'official' story
......?????

4. suspicious activities/statements/actions by the norwegian authorities from the start
a. instead of the wada norm, adno takes 6 days to impose the provisional suspension
b. contrary to the etiquette for an anti-doping agency and prior to completing (!) an investigation, adno prejudged a conclusion by announcing that clostebol concentration was consistent with cream application. such a prejudice blatantly side-steps the possibility of the drug injection or ingestion at the end of its clearance period from the body
c. consistent, coordinated, purposeful manipulation of the media promoting the 'official' story
d. general lack of credibility after attempting to cover up the sundby doping case most details of which are still held secret from the public
......???

please add

...
johaug
...
2.f a self-admitted use of salbutamol w/o having the asthma. having in mind that salbutamol is a wada-banned masking agent thought be used with anabolic steroids to accelerate the steroid clearance.

 

[Blaaswix]

Re: Re:

below is my attempt at putting together the hard to fathom holes/question/ 'whys' regarding the official johaug story. it's a collection of many contributions of many posters, including some of my own. i attempted to stick only to what's known so far or can be traced to a source or a common sense. i stayed away from such subjective things as 'thick jaw etc...by all means add, and perhaps we can sticky either the separate thread or this post.

1. dr bendiksen:
a. why to fly to livigno at all/why the condition not handled from normay (next day shipment, consulting the in-place norges on what to buy how to treat...)
b.aware of the ailment yet flies to livigno w/o the usual johaug medication for her recurrent condition (terra-cortril)
c. takes over a day to travel 120 m to a pharmacy while his patient bleeds, lacks sleep...
d. upon learning of unavailability of terra-cortril in the pharmacy, fails to seek it in other local places (up to 20 available in the vicinity)
e. buys 2 creams, one of each has a clear 'doping' warning
f. fails to read or associate clostebol with a banned steroid
g. hands the 'doping'-marked trofodermin to johaug
h. a confusion ? one of the versions of trofodermin ('indian')is remarkably similar to terra-cortril
.......?????

2. johaug
a. fails to read the package clearly marked 'doping'
b. fails to exercise due diligence in researching the 'trofodermin/clostebol' term as required by wada
c. ability of the small skin area (lips) to absorb enough clostebol to produce an aaf.
(1st questioned by a finnish national team doctor)
d. incredible performances/rarely seen winning gaps of up to 5% during the entire season 20015-16.
e. never seen before progress in the sprint events well known to ill-suit her slander, miniature physiology
......?????

3. common to johaug and bendiksen
prior to being interviewed by adno separately, used 7 days to iron out the 'official' story
......?????

4. suspicious activities/statements/actions by the norwegian authorities from the start
a. instead of the wada norm, adno takes 6 days to impose the provisional suspension
b. contrary to the etiquette for an anti-doping agency and prior to completing (!) an investigation, adno prejudged a conclusion by announcing that clostebol concentration was consistent with cream application. such a prejudice blatantly side-steps the possibility of the drug injection or ingestion at the end of its clearance period from the body
c. consistent, coordinated, purposeful manipulation of the media promoting the 'official' story
d. general lack of credibility after attempting to cover up the sundby doping case most details of which are still held secret from the public
......???

please add

...
johaug
...
2.f a self-admitted use of salbutamol w/o having the asthma. having in mind that salbutamol is a wada-banned masking agent thought be used with anabolic steroids to accelerate the steroid clearance.

4. Months in the summer without testing, May to October (as far as we know).

How does this compare to the elite cyclists?

 

[Tubeless]

Re:

below is my attempt at putting together the hard to fathom holes/question/ 'whys' regarding the official johaug story. it's a collection of many contributions of many posters, including some of my own. i attempted to stick only to what's known so far or can be traced to a source or a common sense. i stayed away from such subjective things as 'thick jaw etc...by all means add, and perhaps we can sticky either the separate thread or this post.

1. dr bendiksen:
a. why to fly to livigno at all/why the condition not handled from normay (next day shipment, consulting the in-place norges on what to buy how to treat...)
b.aware of the ailment yet flies to livigno w/o the usual johaug medication for her recurrent condition (terra-cortril)
c. takes over a day to travel 120 m to a pharmacy while his patient bleeds, lacks sleep...
d. upon learning of unavailability of terra-cortril in the pharmacy, fails to seek it in other local places (up to 20 available in the vicinity)
e. buys 2 creams, one of each has a clear 'doping' warning
f. fails to read or associate clostebol with a banned steroid
g. hands the 'doping'-marked trofodermin to johaug
h. a confusion ? one of the versions of trofodermin ('indian')is remarkably similar to terra-cortril
.......?????

2. johaug
a. fails to read the package clearly marked 'doping'
b. fails to exercise due diligence in researching the 'trofodermin/clostebol' term as required by wada
c. ability of the small skin area (lips) to absorb enough clostebol to produce an aaf.
(1st questioned by a finnish national team doctor)
d. incredible performances/rarely seen winning gaps of up to 5% during the entire season 20015-16.
e. never seen before progress in the sprint events well known to ill-suit her slander, miniature physiology
......?????

3. common to johaug and bendiksen
prior to being interviewed by adno separately, used 7 days to iron out the 'official' story
......?????

4. suspicious activities/statements/actions by the norwegian authorities from the start
a. instead of the wada norm, adno takes 6 days to impose the provisional suspension
b. contrary to the etiquette for an anti-doping agency and prior to completing (!) an investigation, adno prejudged a conclusion by announcing that clostebol concentration was consistent with cream application. such a prejudice blatantly side-steps the possibility of the drug injection or ingestion at the end of its clearance period from the body
c. consistent, coordinated, purposeful manipulation of the media promoting the 'official' story
d. general lack of credibility after attempting to cover up the sundby doping case most details of which are still held secret from the public
......???

please add

Johaug - inconsistencies in explaining when and where the lip problem started:
http://www.tv2.no/sport/8688995/

During the first press conference on October 13, she said the lip problem started in Seiser Alm:

It all started in Seiser Alm. It was hot and I got sunstroke third day, which meant that I also subjects burned the underside of my lip. I got big open wound. It was very painful, and it was great pain.

In an interview on October 27, she said the lip problem started in Livigno:

It was because I had no sores on the lip when I was in Seiser (Alm). First there was the red, shiny. For each day that passed, it came up more and more sore. It was only when we went to Livigno on Wednesday that the lip started to get wide open, bleeding wound.

The same article also points out that she initially reported meeting the Dr for breakfast in Livigno on September 2, and in the later interview said it was for lunch.

The truth is easy to remember - repeating a lie consistently takes skill and practice.

 

[Robert5091]

https://sputniknews.com/sport/201610201046545465-norway-doping-sports/
"According to Jan Ove Tangen, sports at the top level are already largely unhealthy and imply a tremendous stress for the human body. Furthermore, doping is seen as a means to keep athletes healthy." (therefore the doping soon after competitions )

http://www.svt.se/sport/vintersport/ryska-ledaren-om-johaug-en-bagatell/
https://www.nrk.no/ho/russisk-skipresident_-_-johaug-saken-er-en-bagatell-1.13201579
Yelena Välbe, President of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association, says it a bagatelle - believes (or supports) the official story.

 

[Discgear]

https://sputniknews.com/sport/201610201046545465-norway-doping-sports/
"According to Jan Ove Tangen, sports at the top level are already largely unhealthy and imply a tremendous stress for the human body. Furthermore, doping is seen as a means to keep athletes healthy." (therefore the doping soon after competitions )

http://www.svt.se/sport/vintersport/ryska-ledaren-om-johaug-en-bagatell/
https://www.nrk.no/ho/russisk-skipresident_-_-johaug-saken-er-en-bagatell-1.13201579
Yelena Välbe, President of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association, says it a bagatelle - believes (or supports) the official story.

Prof Tangen kind of confirms what appears to be Norwegian sports logic. As long as medication is used to help the Norwegian athlete back to "normal" capacity, it's okay, be it doping or not (as long it's not "performance enhancing" beyond Norwegian normal). Hence always be able to breath 100%, being able to build muscles as the best, being able to start every race at full capacity even in the middle of a tour or sprint event, being able to recover fast even after the toughest training- or competition events.

I think Valbes comment is russian irony and it takes scandinavian blue eyed naivity not understanding.

 

[python]

before properly assessing what vialbe said, one needs to keep in mind the settings of the interview and how she became great before becoming a chain smoking, obese, mouthy protege of the current political system (btw, as can be seen in the politics threads i have little against her boss).

it was an interview with a norge Østlendingen...when talking to a non-domestic journo, she often blows sweet smoke to look classy which imo she has zero. when talking to her domestiques, she thunders about the norge asmatics and sick worth the paralimpic competition...i doubt she's capable of a subtle irony or an cheeky sarcasm, discgear.

so what does her 'support' mean ? it's an understanding of one hard user of steroids never caught(i doubt not) towards a less fortunate steroid user. simple.

 

[abcdaniel]

http://www.svt.se/sport/vintersport/ryska-ledaren-om-johaug-en-bagatell/
https://www.nrk.no/ho/russisk-skipresident_-_-johaug-saken-er-en-bagatell-1.13201579
Yelena Välbe, President of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association, says it a bagatelle - believes (or supports) the official story.

Välbe surely knows, not least from her own federation, that Therese’s explanation is shady? And that Therese’s kind of performances historically have been aided by illicit practices? She’s probably not content with Norwegians/FIS/everyone else usually pointing fingers at Russia on the subject of doping? Is there anytithng to gain for her making such statements?

A day later Therese is happy again on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMMuUzIB7lU/. I have no doubt that the communication coming out from NSF and Therese is highly controlled and curated at this time.

I never, ever, ever want to make this into a conspiracy theory thread, but are major figures in XC skiing negotiating/having a power struggle over the Norwegian issue? How do these high profile doping cases play out in other sports?

There is a lot of high profile positioning going on in media, being that it is a case under investigation, with Välbe being apologetic and FIS President Gian Franco Kasper announcing they will appeal a lenient outcome. http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/vi-kommer-til-a-anke-en-mild-straff/63980751

The NSF meanwhile announces they will continue with their asthma regime, normalizing their behaviour in the media and in people’s minds. The players are upping the ante.

 

[Cloxxki]

If the authorities don't like our mismedication of athma medicines and "recovery" steroids, they'll need to make room in their regulations for our medical practices.

 

[sida_mot]

Calle Halfvarsson (swe) diagnosed with asthma.

Great timing!

 

[Discgear]

Re:

it was an interview with a norge Østlendingen...when talking to a non-domestic journo, she often blows sweet smoke to look classy which imo she has zero. when talking to her domestiques, she thunders about the norge asmatics and sick worth the paralimpic competition...i doubt she's capable of a subtle irony or an cheeky sarcasm, discgear.

You might be right. I'll stick to the interpretation that Valbe is showing off some old good russian - Dostojevskian irony or simply a who gives the f attitude. Or she's simply oppurtunistic. However, it takes a Scandinavian media outlet to swallow her comments as a support of Johaug.

If the authorities don't like our mismedication of athma medicines and "recovery" steroids, they'll need to make room in their regulations for our medical practices.

Amen

 

[Robert5091]

I read Välbe's comments as being "nice to the Norwegians today and maybe the Norwegians will be nice to the Russians down the road."

 

[BullsFan22]

I read Välbe's comments as being "nice to the Norwegians today and maybe the Norwegians will be nice to the Russians down the road."

They already have been. Northug, Toenseth, Dyrhaug, among others have come out in support of Legkov after initial reports came out in May.

Omertà definitely in play. Not many want to talk about doping publicly for the sake of not being frowned upon by their peers and potentially being looked as hypocrites, because if there are people that know what doping looks like, it is the racers themselves.

Also remember how when the Sundby news came out this Summer when some 'journalist' in either Dagbladet or VG came out with a tabloid-like piece ridiculing Vaelbe and the Russians and saying something along the lines of 'the Russian women today are pathetic and slow, long gone are the days of dopers..etc...' And then something like 'the Russians today are jealous because of the dominance of the Norwegian women, so they have to resort to making doping accusations...' You'll have to go back to this article being shared here in this thread in July or August.

 

[python]

...the following doping case spells a bad news for therese. in fact, it could be much worse than the following article may have realized. willingly or not. still, kudos to vg.no for that. i looked into both cases based on some details i fetched from the sources in portuguese.

http://www.vg.no/sport/langrenn/doping/sverige-sjefen-om-dopingsjokkene-jeg-ville-ha-gaatt-av/a/23835751/

in summary, a brazilian long jumper maurren maggi also tested positive for clostebol in 2003. her case has several striking similarities to the johaug case. But there are also some differences (not in the article) that i firmed up. the differences were clear strengths for the maurren maggi acquittal that was STILL later overturned by cas. but they don't look good for therese b/c she isn't in a position to claim them

lets start with similarities:

1. both busted by the clostebol containing skin cream
2. for both it was recommended by a medic taking full responsibility
3. both applied to small skin area (bikini line for maurren)
4. for both it was a trace amount never disclosed
5. for both it was claimed by the defense to have NO performance enhancement effect whatsoever
6. both tested by their national wada labs
7. both claimed to use the cream 1day BEFORE the test
8. both pored a lot of public tears, anguish, claims of ABSOLUTE honesty by f & f etc
9. both enjoyed the favoritism of the local authorities (7 of 7 brazilian judges: 'zero guilt')
10. both threatened by the their international bodies to appeal IF too mild a punishment.
11. (added) Both claimed creams are virtually identical (Novaderm vs Trofodermin), Same active ingredients ( clostebol actate+neomycin sulfate), same strength (.5%), same tube size (30g)

the differences (this may not be a complete list b/c neither of the case papers are public. i did search CAS. nada)

1. johaug did not test for 4 months prior to the bust...maurren maggi tested 'clean' (edit:11) days prior.
2. maurren maggi is a brazilian, tested in brazil for a brazil-only-made cream. in the therese's case we know there were all sorts of incredible stories to justify not using her normal norwegian cream in a foreign country.
3. while for johaug, the fis president statement CURRENTLY is only a POTENTIAL threat, the IAAF, despite some obvious strengths of the athlete version, considered the cream a cover story and...WON in cas the maximum vacation at that time - 2 years.

why would the johaug case, which for all we know NOW, is equally weak or weaker, why would she deserve a lesser punishment

me thinks, if the wada and fis dont read our thread, they are impatient for the norges to shoot their foot again...after the sundby fiasco in cas, that would be - no, not arrogant - plain stupid.

 

[sida_mot]

I miss how your link relates to your post.

Wouldn't the Stefano Agostini case be a better case to compare with anyway?

Same substance, same cream and only a few years old. He got 15 months in 2013 and chose to retire.

 

[python]

Re:

I miss how your link relates to your post.

Wouldn't the Stefano Agostini case be a better case to compare with anyway?

Same substance, same cream and only a few years old. He got 15 months in 2013 and chose to retire.

...within the article i incorrectly linked to, was this,
http://www.vg.no/sport/langrenn/therese-johaug/skyldte-paa-bikini-linjen-utestengt-to-aar-for-johaug-dopet/a/23822306/
which i meant to post but apparently did not b/c i got carried away doing the research on maurren maggi. her case attracted my attention, b/c i saw a lot of similarities with johaug. as i explained in that post, if the adno dares to follow the brazilian example and go 'mild', the fis and wada may consider, just like the iaaf did, the johaug story a full blooded cover up. too many similarities...

the agostini case is also relevant as it is more recent, but i need to be convinced/cleared 1st of the accidental nature of her case - that is, that it was NOT a case of the deliberate doping. right now, too many holes. thus i am having fun with the 'holes theory' and its implications and consequences

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.dn.se/sport/forbundet-betalar-johaugs-advokatkostnader/
http://www.vg.no/sport/langrenn/the...t-betaler-johaugs-advokatutgifter/a/23836110/
NSF are paying Therese Johaug's legal costs. They've already paid out 3.3 million Norwegian Crowns to Sundby's legal costs. Ouch!

 

[John de Savage]

Re:

Simplest scenario for the whole adventure for me is that Johaug was on the steroid, went to Italy for the altitude camp, then the good doctor was tipped off to the anti-doping test upon therese's return to Norway. So knowing she would test positive, he flew down to find the most plausible deniability possible. This happened to be the (non) lip cream.

Bad theory. All she had to do was not hear the door bell that day, or stay at a friends/parents house without updating her whereabouts.

That theory explains only why the Dr would given Johaug wrong medicine that he thought was intended for the lips - another unfathomable mistake. It makes more sense that the Dr bought the Trofodermin package for the very reason that it contained Clostebol:

1. This was the “innocent explanation” in case the upcoming test came back positive
2. As Johaug’s condition was known and recurring, the Dr would have brought the medicine with him
3. If he forgot, he would have gone shopping right away, instead of waiting a full day
4. The Dr certainly would have read the instructions for any new medicine, and seen the DOPING warnings
5. Swedish anti-doping officials are baffled that a team Dr would purchase new type of medicine for an athlete from outside home country

Reading the athlete interviews suggests that ADNO has a pattern of testing the team on camps while in Norway - or upon returning from camps outside of Norway - easy access to all athletes, less travel & expense for ADNO. Since this camp was in Italy, there was a a high probability that (some) athletes would be tested once they get back home.

The Dr would have given Johaug an injection of Clostebol just before leaving for the camp - which would help her recover better from skiing up high at 3000 meters. Given the length of the camp and the historical record that Norwegians had never before been tested while at a training camp outside of their home country, it seemed like a perfectly safe method - used many times before.

So perhaps a tipoff about an upcoming doping test is not required for this theory and instead the Dr had learned about the new, more sensitive test in a medical journal in late August. So he panicked and flew down to Italy to come up with the cover story. The lip problem was a convenient coincidence, or induced by not putting lip balm on one sunny day.

Another poor theory. So the window of detection has increased by an extra couple of weeks? You know what you do in that situation? You make yourself unavailable for drug testing for an extra couple weeks. A missed test is infinitely better than a 2-4 year ban. Your theory requires Johaug to be on 2 missed tests in the past 12 months to be plausible. But even so, a positive test for a steroid blamed on a skin cream labeled "Doping" and explicitly containing an AAS is hardly a better option than a whereabouts issue. Not from a PR perspective, nor if you want to dodge a long ban.

 

[Tubeless]

Re: Re:

That theory explains only why the Dr would given Johaug wrong medicine that he thought was intended for the lips - another unfathomable mistake. It makes more sense that the Dr bought the Trofodermin package for the very reason that it contained Clostebol:

1. This was the “innocent explanation” in case the upcoming test came back positive
2. As Johaug’s condition was known and recurring, the Dr would have brought the medicine with him
3. If he forgot, he would have gone shopping right away, instead of waiting a full day
4. The Dr certainly would have read the instructions for any new medicine, and seen the DOPING warnings
5. Swedish anti-doping officials are baffled that a team Dr would purchase new type of medicine for an athlete from outside home country

Reading the athlete interviews suggests that ADNO has a pattern of testing the team on camps while in Norway - or upon returning from camps outside of Norway - easy access to all athletes, less travel & expense for ADNO. Since this camp was in Italy, there was a a high probability that (some) athletes would be tested once they get back home.

The Dr would have given Johaug an injection of Clostebol just before leaving for the camp - which would help her recover better from skiing up high at 3000 meters. Given the length of the camp and the historical record that Norwegians had never before been tested while at a training camp outside of their home country, it seemed like a perfectly safe method - used many times before.

So perhaps a tipoff about an upcoming doping test is not required for this theory and instead the Dr had learned about the new, more sensitive test in a medical journal in late August. So he panicked and flew down to Italy to come up with the cover story. The lip problem was a convenient coincidence, or induced by not putting lip balm on one sunny day.

Another poor theory. So the window of detection has increased by an extra couple of weeks? You know what you do in that situation? You make yourself unavailable for drug testing for an extra couple weeks. A missed test is infinitely better than a 2-4 year ban. Your theory requires Johaug to be on 2 missed tests in the past 12 months to be plausible. But even so, a positive test for a steroid blamed on a skin cream labeled "Doping" and explicitly containing an AAS is hardly a better option than a whereabouts issue. Not from a PR perspective, nor if you want to dodge a long ban.

You're assuming that Johaug knew when and where she was going to be tested. The press reports indicated that ADNO has a habit of showing up at team gatherings where it's easy to find everyone - and it would not be possible to avoid being tested.

Do you have a better theory that would explain the known facts?

 

[Random Direction]

Re: Re:

Simplest scenario for the whole adventure for me is that Johaug was on the steroid, went to Italy for the altitude camp, then the good doctor was tipped off to the anti-doping test upon therese's return to Norway. So knowing she would test positive, he flew down to find the most plausible deniability possible. This happened to be the (non) lip cream.

Bad theory. All she had to do was not hear the door bell that day, or stay at a friends/parents house without updating her whereabouts.
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John de Savage - as Tubeless notes, do you have a more compelling hypothesis? Simply saying bad theory would seem to be trying to create doubt on what was written without addressing the actual content. Sure, intentionally messing up the whereabouts could be plausible, though for reasons Tubeless wrote, it might not be as plausible as normal.