Shades of East German dope scandal

Dr Peter Larkins says Essendon's drug scandal may be a bigger problem than first thought. Picture: Ben Swinnerton Source: Herald Sun

ONE of Australia's leading medical experts has warned the Essendon anti-doping investigation has the potential to become the modern-day version of the East German doping scandal of the 1980s.

Sports Medicine Australia spokesman Dr Peter Larkins said if reports about peptide use and injections at Essendon are proven true by an ASADA investigation, it would be comparable with how the East Germans systematically doped athletes for decades without their knowledge.

"I think it's very important to get the facts clear about what product Essendon have been implicated in using. Then we will be able to determine whether it is a story worthy of significant problems for Essendon or whether it's been, dare I say, embellished and amplified more than it should be," Dr Larkins said.

"When East Germany was dominant in the Iron Curtain days of the 1970s and 1980s and athletes were being administered performance-enhancing drugs by coaches and sports administrators in the Eastern bloc and athletes had no say in what they were given - that is the closest serious analogy that I've got to this in sport in my 30 years."

Injections are certainly not uncommon at professional football clubs, but they're used for medical purposes such as vitamin boosts, cortisone to treat inflammation of injuries or anaesthetic for pain relief.

"In terms of things that will make you stronger or make you faster or give you a better blood stream like EPO, they're all illegal. There are not many legal things," Dr Larkins said.

Four lower-level rugby union players from Queensland and NSW are believed to be the only Australian sportsmen or women serving bans surrounding performance-enhancing peptides. All were suspended on charges including possession and did not test positive.

Franky Bourke, a long-time rugby figure on the Sunshine Coast with a strength and conditioning background, was banned for four years on possession and attempted trafficking of growth hormone-releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6).

Bourke was caught after an online order was intercepted at Sydney airport.

Two-year bans were imposed on Trent Anderson (Sunshine Coast rugby, for possession and attempted use of GHRP-6) and Brendan Bunyan (North Queensland rugby, for possession and attempted use of insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1).
 

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