Thyroid hormone medication not on new WADA prohibited substance list
Thyroid hormonal medication is not featured on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited substances and methods for 2016 even after the U.S. anti-doping agency lobbied to have it added to the list, reports The Wall Street Journal's Sara Germano.
The new list will be enforced starting Jan. 1, 2016.
In endurance sports, some elite athletes have used thyroid medication to combat hypothyroidism, a hormonal imbalance that causes fatigue. Some coaches and athletes are under the impression that thyroid medication is being abused to give a performance enhancing edge to certain individuals.
U.K. Anti-Doping spokeswoman Sophie Ashcroft told WSJ that the anti-doping organization previously appealed to WADA twice to add thyroid hormone to the prohibited list as improper use “can be extremely harmful to health.”
Some public outcry against thyroid medication in a sport like track and field comes after a June report by BBC and ProPublica claimed Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar and Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp would push the boundaries on USADA and WADA's policies on thyroid medication as well as therapeutic exemptions. Salazar and Rupp denied any allegations.
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