“Vitamin V” Vigara Up For International Sporting Ban by The World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has confirmed it is considering whether to include Viagra in its list of banned substances in international sports after indications that athletes are using the anti-impotence treatment to improve performance.
Wada believes sildenafil (Viagra) enhances athletic performance, particularly in high-pollution locations such as Beijing and London. The agency tracks the use of drugs that enhance sporting prowess and is to conduct research into the medicine, which can boost blood flow to the lungs.
DRUG testers around the world have noticed a curious coincidence. Whenever there is a drug bust for illegal steroids or growth hormone involving athletes, another drug that is legal, and very popular, is nearly always at hand….Viagra.
Viagra (Sildenafil) is intended to alleviate erectile dysfunction (male impotence) but from a scientific standpoint, whether it also enhances athletic performance is unclear. WADA is currently conducting research into the drug but results are not expected until next year - the drug is currently not an illegal substance in world sport.
As well as boosting the blood supply to muscles - helpful in sprinting - the drug may also enhance endurance, especially when competitors are breathing in polluted conditions or at high altitudes.
That Viagra has the nickname ‘Vitamin V’ in sporting circles is an indication of its popularity and experts say Viagra and a similar drug, Cialis (tadalafil) are regularly found in the urine samples of male competitors.
A 2006 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found using Viagra improved the times of some cyclists but it did not significantly enhance performance at sea level.
A key factor in Viagra is its ability to increase blood flow. Its active ingredient, sildenafil citrate, cause the blood vessels to relax, which improves blood flow from the heart and increases oxygen to the muscles.
Two incidents recently illustrate this trend. In the US, the New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens was reported to have kept a supply of Viagra in his locker at the baseball stadium. In Italy, Gerolsteiner team cyclist Andrea Moletta was suspended last month from Italy’s biggest bike race following a search of his father’s car which discovered syringes hidden in toothpaste tubes as well as Viagra pills.
Drug testers also believe some athletes may be taking Viagra to help increase the effectiveness of other drugs. Or is it that Viagra is being used to offset the debilitating side effect of impotence, brought about by injecting steroids?
Wada updates its list of prohibited drugs annually and could add Viagra before the Games in London in 2012.
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