Why would a doctor prescribe phentermine to an elite athlete that is clearly not obese?
Is there any type of performance enhancement that come about through it’s usage in competition or out of competition?
Seems the top domestic pro TT’er in the US had a legit prescription for it, but likely won’t be riding next year because he used it in competition or too close to competition. I had associated the stuff with obese people having heart attacks from using it. Doesn’t sound so great for somebody who routinely redlines their heart for 20-50 minutes at a time.
I would think that there’s definitely a significant amount of race-day performance enhancement using Phentermine. It’s a stimulant, similar to Meth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phentermine
I’m glad he got caught.
No, I don’t think it was ethical for a doctor to prescribe such a drug to elite athletes since it can be easily misused. It should be noted, though, that Phentermine is legal to use out of training, a questionable rule since there’s a very thin, practically transparent line between it and stimulants like methaphetamine. It’s a highly-addictive schedule IV drug, a controlled-substance. I don’t think elite athletes (or anybody else for that matter) should be using it, but I guess for now that’s up to doctors to decide.
I bet he got in on-line. THey will rx that crap to anybody. All you have to do is fib a bit about your ht/wt…If you tell them your BMI is high you will get via a on-line consult without ever seeing the dorktor…
The med causing the heart problems was the combonation of the two diet drugs Phen/Fen
From the things I have heard over the years, it just isn’t terribly surprising when certain riders get caught doping, and often they seem to get caught for the most unlikely things. That said, one needs to remember that the “on label” benefits are often not what these drugs are being taken for…
He’s an Australian who’s been riding for US domestic teams the past several years (latest was Health Net - also Navigators). He is usually the Australian national TT champ.