In Austria, there must be a whole lotta dopin’ goin’ on. At least, that’s the impression I’ve gotten from perusing a number of articles about a series of arrests and investigations going in that country. A while back, a mysterious 32-year-old cyclist only referred to as “K” was being held in police custody, apparently accused of selling various performance enhancing drugs to other cyclists and perhaps other athletes, too. A few days later, the cyclist was identified as Christoph Kerschbaum.
Kerschbaum’s team, RC Arbo Wels Gourmetfein, fired the cyclist on March 24th, or thereabouts. Roughly the same day he was released. Kerschbaum was sprung from the joint after 11 days’ detention, on the condition that he basically keep quiet about the ongoing case.
One day earlier, former Austrian Nordic ski coach Walter Mayer was arrested, apparently based on the suspicion that he was involved in the case, too. An unnamed Viennese pharmacist has also been implicated in the case.
If Mayer’s name rings a bell, it’s because he was implicated in the 2006 Torino Olympics scandal involving Austrian Nordic skiers and biathletes. Raids conducted by Italian authorities on the two teams’ quarters turned up “drug paraphernalia and performance-enhancing drugs,” according to an Agence France Presse report. Five Austrian athletes, three cross-country skiers and two biathletes, were handed life bans from competition in connection with that case.
A week after Kerschbaum was released from custody, fellow Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl admitted that he had received EPO and other banned substances from his manager, Stefan Matschiner. According to the Austrian Times:
Kohl, 26, claimed yesterday [March 31, 2009] he had received EPO, growth hormones, insulin and testosterone from Matschiner over the last few years and paid him 50,000 Euros since 2005.
Kohl also admitted to having been a customer of Vienna’s Humanplasma clinic, where he underwent blood-doping procedures. His statement may mean authorities will reopen the case regarding the institute after only recently having abandoned their investigation of it.
And that’s not all. Austrian triathlete Lisa Hütthaler is also accusing Matschiner of providing her with banned substances. Hütthaler is currently serving out a suspension from competition after testing positive for doping. Matschner’s attorney is singing a somewhat different tune.
Matschiner’s lawyer Franz Essl said: “Investigators have found no doping substances or anything similar in their thorough search of my client’s house in (the Upper Austrian town of) Laakirchen.”
Matschiner, himself, said in a brief statement, “This is not funny anymore. I’ll only talk to the authorities from now on, not to any media. The subject sport is done for me. I am done with this dishonest scene.”
Interesting way of phrasing things, no? Which part of the sporting scene do you think he’s calling dishonest? We’ll see, in a moment.
A total of at least five individuals have been arrested in Austria over the last 6 to 8 weeks, according to Vienna Prosecutor’s spokesman Gerhard Jarosch. Some of the people arrested were involved in the “fitness and weight training” business. Changes in Austria’s anti-doping laws implemented in August 2008 have given police and prosecutors authority to pursue doping cases with much more vigor than in years past. Possession and distribution of doping products now carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Before the law was changed, possessing or distributing performance-enhancing drugs was only considered a minor offense, according to various news reports.
Judging by the reports, one could easily get the impression that Austrian sports are rife with doping. According to the Austrian Times:
Asked what she thought of recent studies claiming every third amateur athlete was doping, Hütthaler said: “I can imagine that. A lot of non-professional athletes do doping. Many doctors are involved, with a lot of money.”
I’m not sure what study the reporter was referring to, or whether that study just covers Austria or the broader sporting world. The idea that one-third of all amateur athletes might be doping should give us all pause. That’s a whole lot of weekend warriors going out and shooting themselves up with a whole lot of drugs. Whatever sport you participate in, in the end, it’s just a game. Is the game so important that one could justify rolling the dice with one’s health and longevity?
Some doping methods are risky, after all. A little EPO, for instance, may boost the number of blood cells available to transport oxygen to your muscles. Too much EPO could turn your blood to the consistency of sludge and kill you. If the estimate that one-third of amateurs are juicing is right, how many of them are getting their performance-enhancing drugs through shady back channels? How many are using products that contain additives that aren’t safe? How many are using PEDs without even the most basic of medical advice or monitoring? (Not that I’m in favor of using PEDs, but anyone who does so ought to do it in a safe manner.) And what does it say about Western sports culture that so many could be doing so, despite rules to the contrary?
With every day and every passing news cycle, more information trickles out. Today’s latest news is that Stefan Matschiner is beginning to sing like a stool pigeon, too. As deutsche presse agentur (DPA) is reporting:
Sports manager Stefan Matschiner has told Austrian investigators that he supplied cyclist Bernhard Kohl and other athletes with doping substances, the Austrian Press Agency APA reported late Friday. Matschiner, who was taken into custody in Monday, reportedly told the authorities that he supplied the blood booster EPO, testosterone and Human Growth Hormone.
APA said that Matschiner’s lawyer did not dismiss this information as false.
The report said that Matschiner also implicated a Vienna blood bank, Humanplasma, which had been mentioned before in the doping scheme. Matschiner’s lawyer, Franz Essl, said that Matschiner had not tempted the athletes to use forbidden performance-enhancing substances, bur rather told them to use lesser quantities.
Many news outlets have been careful to report that the cases being pursued can only cover events since Austria’s new anti-doping law took effect. Unlike Operacion Puerto the Endless, Austrian authorities don’t yet seem to be attempting to find innovative ways of charging people for crimes related to doping, even when doping practices had not yet been made illegal. Therein lies the biggest bungling in the Puerto case. Before going public with their findings, Spanish authorities should have been more careful in determining whether any crimes had actually been committed. Whether you agree with the Austrians approach or not, whether you agree with various practices being made illegal, Austrian officials seem to be very careful in terms of playing by the rules.
Be that as it may, this story is getting curiouser and curiouser by the day. What on earth will happen next?
