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Point of view of  the fan

Article 2. Witch-hunt or is everybody equal in rights?

How many years have passed since that memorable day when punctured of arbalist arrows, like a hedgehog, Ulof Nasal had crept through a finishing line on the first competitions on biathlon? And as there weren`t others finishers (that - that and to shoot ancient vikings were able) in this day, they declaired him the winner. They poured the due cup of wine to triumpher`s became blue lips, but had no time to test him on a subject, whether the ill-starred viking used for a victory broth from fly agarics, infused on a rat dung, because the winner, not coming in consciousness, in a half of an hour has died. Hence, we can not to approve, that the dope is a biathlon coeval. But on our memory conversations about it during competitions became the same informal, but obligatory attribute, like a flag of a native land in a hand of the winner on finish.

Competitions of this season havn`t start already, when the first doping scandal thundered . A criminal (or a victim, it depends how to judge) became Belorussian biathlete Svetlana Handogina caught on furosemide. We can`t consider furosemide as a pure dope at all. This preparation for weights driving, everybody can get in a drugstore. And detection of so trivial substance in the test of Belorussian sportsmen induces me on a sad idea, that "witch-hunt" in this season only has begun. Today only American teenagers with their pink-checked optimism can count, that a dope in professional sports is an alien thing. Actually it was known about him in sports circles minimum fifty years before and so for a long time there were laws which included the list of the forbidden preparations, the order and terms of delivery of tests and punishments for using of these substances. But this laws could not destroy a dope as the appearance because sportsmen with the doctors had learned to bypass these laws, knowing private rules of game. You see that nobody wanted to inflate scandals, therefore cases of discrediting great champions and recordsmen were rare.

The situation has changed last years with growth of influence of world anti-dope agency WADA. First, the Finnish cross country skiing team was disqualified during the domestic World championship in it`s full roster, then during Olympic Games in Salt Lake City the female combined team of Russia has suffered. In all these cases, according to dissatisfied parties, they were serious infringements of the standard practice doping tests and as the result those who hadn`t faster overcome a distance recieved medals, and those who has passed clean dope tests or concerning those such strict measures were not accepted. In other kinds of sports on endurance the situation is similar. So in cycling, loud scandals during the long races when representatives of WADA often rushed with a search during the night into rooms of racers and could take off any applicant for a victory in race, only because they had found an ampoule in his bag. Similar persecution recently has resulted to tragical destruction of a talented sportsman and remarkable person Marko Pantani.

It`s still fresh in our memory fragments of an epopee with runaway from the dope test before the Athenian Olympic Games of Greek sprinters Katerina Thanu and Kostas Kenteris, or mysterious exposure of confidential laboratory in USA, making a nobody known product with the difficult to pronounce name tetrahydrodestrinon (THG), which was not included at all in the list of forbidden preparations. As consequence a half-dozen of top stars haven`t gone on games. As a result there is such situation, that medals can be won not only on a race, but also in laboratory of WADA and even in a court.

Here a reader can tear off my reasonings, fairly having noticed, that dope scandals bypass biathlon. Last years only Belorussian Vadim Sashurin, and Finn Olli Kettunen spent dope disqualification. And now Handogina. However the situation in the biathlon world is interesting `cause the`s a lot of

sportsmen, mainly Scandinavians, who legally can accept preparations more stronger than furosemide. They need only certificate about presence of heavy disease, for example asthmas. However, it guards, as far as seldom this disease has usual people, so frequently skiers and biathletes are suffered by this illness, especially members of Norwegian team, more than a half of wich are astmatics. It is difficult to tell how frequently they pass a medical board and how objective is it. But that fact that officials of ski and biathlon federations do not want to clash with their presidents Norwegians Martinsen and Besseberg and to toughen requirements to asthmatics is a serious reason. Growing of the list of the forbidden preparations for 2005 year practically doesn`t concern astmatics, despite the numerous applications of officials on the eve of a winter season. Such applications were made before Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and before the world Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. Nevertheless, formoterol, salbutamol, salmeterol, therbutalin and others antiasthmas inhalation substances are still allowed to use by sportsmen with the certificate.

However we shall return to the beginning:

" Admit, stupid dog "! - addressed to the hefly good fellow put on an inquisitorial clothes oldman of a bilious kind, - " Have you drink an insist from toads and dandelions? "

- From the same dog, I hear, - the good fellow snapped, thus his physiognomy of color of overmature peach showed a sample of children's innocence, thus he has snatched out the greased indulgence from the top of a jacket by dexterous movement:

- Look at the seal, - the good fellow hooted, sticking by a thick as a sausage finger in the piece of paper, - I have earned an asthma half-and-half with a hernia in campaigns with Eric Red . So this broth is vital for me. And also a horse chestnut dissolved on a goat milk, alcohol tincture on flies and an extract of pale toadstool.

The big fellow bent fingers with ecstasy.

- And you, Eolf Smelly? - and the inquisitor`s finger was aimed in a lean breast of a guy of pity kind, facing hardly at some distance, and there was already flashed with new force a fire of the struggle for validity, - in your dirty hovel we have found a bottle with the rests of ointment from morels on the mutton bacon. Do you have earned to yourself an asthma in campaigns too?

- Oh no, your Validity, - answered a guy, - they hadn`t taken me there `cause of delicacy of health . And my wife pounded my hand dislocation by this medicine last year .

- That means you have no indulgences! - cried oldman joyfully, - Take him!

Unfortunate shouted vainly: " I`m a fair viking ", trying to cut a hollow stomach by a sharp knife. They didn`t give him to die easy. Hefly good fellows from inquisitorial retinue had fallen down sickly and have dragged him by the accompaniment of joyful shouts of following them crowd .

- Praise to Odin, the`s still validity in our biathlon, - one lunatic long proclaimed, sufficing for hands each passer-by, until he had slipped on the rat dung which has been thrown out from one underground laboratory...