Lahti silver medalist gets 2-year ban for doping violation
On October 23, Finnish media reported a doping violation at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Lahti. (I saw it for the first time tonight, sorry.) WMA and the Koops’ site in Germany now are reporting the punishment meted out. Here’s the brief WMA report on M45 Finnish shot putter Pekka Viippo, the silver-medal winner, being found “guilty of the following doping violation: presence of the prohibited substances Testosterone, Norandrosterone, Methylphenidate and Ritalinic Acid in his doping control sample.” He was tested August 2 at Lahti. His national federation slapped Pekka with a two-year competition ban. This is interesting aside from the obvious. The Finns fingered one of their own! Will there be other dopers ID’d? Don’t know yet. This Finnish site has a report and apparently a long audio interview with Pekka (who sighs a lot.) His other claim to fame: He reportedly once lost a fight to Mike Tyson.
Pekka was the No. 23 shot putter in the 2008 world rankings. But he rose to No. 7 in the 2009 world rankings.
In the Finnish report, we learn that “some fifty doping tests” were done at Lahti (just about what I’ve been told over the years, despite the secrecy of the figure.)
Pekka, a former super heavyweight boxer, says he used the banned substances to treat injuries, citing shoulder problems. “Viippo won in the past several boxing Championships in Finland,” says the Finnish report. And I apologize for this rough translation: “He does not believe in the creative shadow smell of success over the past sports. A species knows that substances have nothing to do with it, at least in amateur boxing. I believe that people believe that when I’ve been training for purely. . . . Viippo says that will continue to compete in sport at the end toimintakieltonsa.”
Here’s a rough translation of the Koops’ post:
Doping case at the World Cup: Finnish shot-putter suspended
The Masters Athletics World Federation WMA has now been informed that there has been at the last World Championships in Lahti, a doping case. Prior to the Finnish Veterans’ Athletic Association (CSR) had the world governing body has to be informed that the silver medalist in the shot of the M45 Pekka Viippo (Finland) after the final battle in Kugelkstoßen on the afternoon of 2 August is tested positive. Been detected in the apparently intentionally doping test prompted the vice world champion several doping agents, namely testosterone, Norandrosterone-a degradation product of the anabolic steroid nandrolone, methylphenidate and Ritalinsäure. A possible exemption for Ritalin had not applied for the Finn.
As a result of his doping offense, the Finn was appointed by his Association two years until 17 October 2011 blocked. In addition, he was subsequently disqualified. Due to the disqualification of the Finns, the Luxembourg Fernand Heintz is a new runner, and he had kicked 14.34 meters. The bronze medal goes to Frenchman Emmanuel Greber (12.80 m). German athletes were in Lahti in this discipline and age non-starter.
(06.11.09) Stan Perkins, WMA president
4 Responses
T&FN Message Board debating whether masters dopers are a problem or not:
http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=38007
Doping is morally wrong and stupid. But I hope this doping suspension is justified. Hope it’s not just another innocent with diabetes taking substances, which he had told everyone about in advance anyway or another critical athlete targeted (picked on) by a thin-skinned national federation. Probably a mix of all three.
Individually, masters athletes have their own reasons to train and compete. But in the BIG PICTURE, I consider masters athletics to be one of the truest measures of sport itself! We don’t do it for money and there is minimal fame.
Pushing ourselves in our workouts to find out what limits there might be as we age is often exhilarating. The competitions are usually fun, of course, unless that untimely injury takes away a rare opportunity to set a personal best. And that’s just part of the game…
But what ruins it all is someone who cheats. Yes, they are cheating themselves and probably lessening their life expectancy as well. But since I believe that in the big picture, as we all look back on this someday, it is about what we all are able to do with these bodies and with our minds. It is not about who has found the best drug! That completely misses the point of sport, doesn’t it?
We cannot let others minimize the importance of what we do out there on the playing field even though the rest of the world (most often those being negative on the blogs have a big gut)probably doesn’t understand it. We are setting the pace, people, of human elderly achievement!
Some of the performances we witness are astounding. Imagine a 70 year old man at the starting line with the fastest milers in the country running a 4 minute mile, for example. And at the end of the first lap, he is even with the leader! Ok…he would drop out about now, but don’t miss the point.
“There are limits….we just don’t know what they are yet”….
I fully agree, Steve!
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