Political cartoonist Theo Moudakis offers a foreboding "heating up the cold war" cartoon in today's Toronto Star March 1, 2010, pg A18.
Imagine the following editorial cartoon: A meek Canadian athlete hands off the Olympic torch to a burly Russian comrade (dressed in a military uniform) standing next to a trench coat clad KGB agent. On the torch hand-off the reply back from the Russian to the Canadian is: "WE WILL BURY YOU."
[yes the West demonises Russia and visa-versa but I digress....]
So I have to ask myself the question--is this just hype? Or will this "sports challenge" be legitimate and sportsmanly (like Canada's science-based "own the podium" program) or illegal, deceptive and underhanded?
We are heading toward a huge scientific grey area beyond what WADA currently looks at.
Putin and all Russian politicians must be furious at Olympic Russian athletes for only winning 15 medals in total, half the winning total won by the USA. In comparision, Canada won 14 gold medals. People forget that the old Soviet Union had more athletes to choose from then Russia does today.
The Russian Sports Minister will likely be fired (or retired to Siberia) and out of despiration, Russia will shift the focus from "Own the Podium" to "Steal the Podium".
N.B. Timothy Bancroft Hinchy, writing in Pravda.ru accused the Canadian Men's hockey team of being on drugs, after they soundly trounced the lackluster Russian team.
Historically, Soviet eastern block countries (ie Eastern Germany) including the ex Soviet Union were the greatest abusers of drug doping (yes the west did it too....remember Ben Johnson?)
So with so much at stake, Russia will be hard pressed not to crank up its scientific and academic doping institutes, and its clandestine "performance disruption" and "sports performance" machine.
One good chemical candidate for a "sports performance enhancer" could be water soluble bucky balls (C60) or hydrated fullerenes, developed next door to Russia by Ukrainian scientists. (It was just approved by the Ministry of Health in Ukraine). Unconfirmed rumours have it that fullerenes were already used by Russian athletes in the days of the Soviet Union.
Hydrated Fullerenes or Bucky Balls (C60 HYFN's) confer tremendous benefits to athletes especially those in endurance sports. This is especially critical when the difference between gold and 4th or 5th place could be hundreds of a second (See anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects, adaptive homeostasis and endurance effects of HyFN's in the list below):
Basic biological properties of aqueous solutions of the hydrated C60 fullerene (HyFn) detected to the present time (May 2007)
In vitro experiments revealed that HyFn with C60 concentrations up to 100mM/l:
1. Are non-toxic for cells including hepatocytes;
2. Do not suppress, but promote the growth of isolated micro-organisms (microbes, fungi, etc.) and improve the survival rate and viability of cells (e.g., spermatozoa) and of frozen-thawed cells;
3. Do not inhibit cell respiration;
4. Do not suppress membrane-bonded ATP-ase activity;
5. Possess greater anti-oxidant properties then vitamin E, b-carotene and BHT (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-kresol);
6. Stabilize cellular membranes and enhance their resistance under adverse conditions;
7. Do not affect blood coagulation;
8. Increase by 5-10 degrees C the temperature of biomolecules denaturation (DN A , albumin, collagen and etc.);
9. Increase catalytic activity of isolated enzymes (e.g., serine proteases).
In vivo experiments revealed that HyFn with C60 total doses up to 25mg/kg of b.w.:
1. A re non-toxic, not immunogenic, none allergenic;
2. Increase resistance of plasma membranes to damaging factors;
3. Positively influence anti-oxidant and energetic systems of organisms;
4. Possess radioprotective properties due to suppression of excess level of free radicals;
5. Possess antihistaminic and allergy-suppressing abilities, i.e., act as anti-inflammatory agents,
6. Positively influence activity of adrenergic, G A B A -, hystaminic- and, especially, serotoninergic systems and, as a consequence, enhance adaptogenic functions of organisms; adaptive homeostasis
7. Show positive neuroprotecting effects (e.g., in A lzheimer's disease) and non-specific analgesic effects;
8. Do not kill tumor cells, inhibition of development of cancer pathologies, cancer metastasis,
9. Possess anti-atherosclerotic (anti-atherogenic) properties;
10. Are able to protect against viral infection (e.g., influenza, etc.): (HyFn do not kill viruses and microbes, but do not allow them to incorporate into cells)....(HYFNs plus Vitamin D supplements could make antibiotics and vaccines obsolete in the future)
Source: Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanostructures, 13: 363-376, 2005;Is the C60 Fullerene Molecule Toxic?!
Watch for other underhanded tactics.
The US embassy in Moscow is routinely bombarded with electromagnetic pulses (EMP) that could disrupt performance in elite athletes.
- 6 Hz-headaches reported
- 6.66 Hz and lower Nausea, headaches, confusion, and depressive anxiety
- 10.35 HZ Agitated anxiety, fear, hostile aggresive behaviour.
Could the athlete village become a similar target? Will officials even know on the chance event that it might happen?
What about sports applications of neuro-ergonomics (from military research)
The World Anti-doping authorities need to crank up their gas chromatograph's to detect bucky balls, bucky ball derivatives and other potential doping substances (ie neurochemicals) by the time Sochi 2014 rolls around.
And maybe the sports world needs an expanded WADA or another global monitoring agency to detect even more clever and deeper deception beyond chemical doping...It will be instituted reactively if something is detected.
Another wild card..some geopolitical events in the next four years will have the west calling for a boycott of Sochi. ..the least of which is NO SNOW. Has anyone told Putin that Sochi has a subtropical climate in the winter time, just like Yalta in Crimea ? Friday's Sochi temperature is forecast to be 16 degrees celsius.
UPDATE: See Toronto Star- Sochi Worst Choice for Winter Olympics http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/774038--is-russia-s-2014-games-site-a-disastrous-choice
Walter Derzko, Smart Economy, Toronto
ISBN13: 978-0-470-73761-3
ISBN10: 0-470-73761-1
Contact us about the Opportunity Clinic workshop and to invite Walter Derzko as a keynote speaker at your next event
Let me remind you, of the 30 or so athletes that were prevented from coming to the Winter Olympics and the handful or so found to be using performance enhancing drugs, not one was Russian. [THIS IS NOT TRUE- How do you know that Russians were not involved? The IOC has not released the names of athletes banned before the Olympics-only that Canadians were not invloved--wd]
There was one slalomist from Russia found to have a higher gemoglobin count but it was a natural occurrence [No it was cough syrup with a banned ingredient ] and he was allowed to compete.
Let's not make silly and disparaging assumptions.
Posted by: Eugene Berkovich | March 01, 2010 at 05:51 PM