gasified wrote:
Xenon gas in an inhaler is more likely. The use of the gas wasn't banned at the time.
bigtool05 wrote:You still actually believe they took a shot of adrenaline BEFORE THE RACE?
You said its more likely that they took an inhaler containing xenon gas, as opposed to an adrenaline shot before competition. The OP is implying that they took a shot of adrenaline immediately before the Olympic 10k final. The whole point of my post is that the timing matters in terms of the actual mechanism by which xenon gas enhances performance (it's not just magic dust), so that yes, "before competition" meaning immediately before, the night before, a week before, months before- makes a significant difference.
The article that you attached says:
"The article describes a protocol that includes breathing in a 50-50 mixture of xenon and oxygen for a few minutes before bedtime. The boosting effect supposedly lasts for several days, so an athlete might have to inhale the gaseous mixture just two or three times a week."
Before bedtime. Not before a race. Regimented. Multiple times a week, with effects lasting for several days (not instantaneous. Red blood cells have to actually be produced, like I said). The linked article even explains this:
It advises using it before competitions to CORRECT LISTLESSNESS AND SLEEP DISRUPTION, and afterwards to improve physical recovery. The recommended dose is a 50:50 mixture of xenon and oxygen, inhaled for a few minutes, IDEALLY BEFORE GOING TO BED. THE GAS’S ACTION, THE MANUAL STATES, CONTINUES FOR 48-72 hours, so repeating every few days is a good idea.
For sleep disruption: would they take that right before starting a 10k?
The gas's action continues for 48-72 which is exactly what I said because the gas initiates a pathway that results in red blood cell production. I already wrote this, but since you ignored it, the performance enhancing benefit would not occur in time to effect their race, and with no performance-based benefit why would they take the risk?
The last effect that I mentioned would be to possibly reduce anxiety before a race, which is the least significant effect. The article says "a quick hit an hour before" a race can help with "pre-race jitters". I have no idea why that would be the case, but even so, they wouldn't be taking an inhaler into the Olympic stadium to take a hit of xenon ten minutes before entering the track if they were to follow this protocol. And even though there is absolutely zero evidence or logic to support the claim that they actually did this, do you really think that they would risk the end of their careers and instant worldwide disgrace at the Olympic Games just to calm their "pre-race jitters"? (Which would have the opposite intention of an adrenaline shot, since people are claiming both). You're right that xenon wasn't banned at the time, but if they were to get caught it would certainly raise suspicion and shatter their credibility, as well as their race performance.
That's just a completely ridiculous suggestion.
But yea, let's just make up absurd accusations regarding successful athletes to diminish an already-struggling sport. Then when someone actually tries to have a discussion about why such a claim doesn't make sense, let's just ignore reality and invent our own interpretation of how a drug works or what an article says.
It's completely reasonable to discuss why Galen Rupp took thyroid medication in college, or the validity of Mary Decker-Slaney's positive test, or Salazar's public comments about performance enhancers or any real, legitimate topic. But you're just inventing this nonsense with no evidence and above all that, the accusation doesn't make any sense. Just because Russian athletes took xenon doesn't mean that the Nike Oregon Project did and it's unfair to accuse them of doing so to diminish the work that they put in and particularly what they've accomplished at the World and Olympic level. This is how the Centrowitz stuff got blown out of proportion in the winter: someone just invented a theory that was illogical but since it was physically possible, people just assumed it to be true even though he did nothing wrong.