What is clenbuterol and why are so many athletes testing positive? CrossFit veteran latest to be investigated for PED
- Drug was originally developed to treat asthma in horses but is now used to increase muscle mass and reduce body fat
- Banned by Wada, there are growing concerns more of the drug is making its way into meat in places like China and Mexico
CrossFit veteran Elly Kabboord is the latest athlete to test positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, a steroid-like chemical that was initially developed to treat asthma in horses in the 1960s.
Kabboord, who is the captain of Rich Froning’s Mayhem Independence team, tested positive from a sample taken at the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship, held in early May in Iceland. Kabboord’s team came second and she stated on Froning’s podcast that she had not knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs.
This is the fifth positive drug test for CrossFit athletes this season. The investigation pertaining to Kabboord is still ongoing and there is no word on whether she will be forced to miss the 2019 CrossFit Games, which will take place in early August.
Clenbuterol has come into the news in recent years as multiple athletes have tested positive for the banned substance, which the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) classifies as an “anabolic agent”.
In 2011, Wada released a statement clarifying that “there is no threshold under which this substance is not prohibited”. However, they also admitted “it is possible that under certain circumstances the presence of a low level of clenbuterol in an athlete sample can be the result of food contamination”.
According to Medical News Today, clenbuterol stimulates the heart and central nervous system, similar to epinephrine and amphetamines. It is still approved for humans in some countries, however it is a banned substance in the United States.
It is not regularly used to treat asthma in people given its potentially dangerous side effects which include heart palpitations, anxiety, muscle tremors, hypertension, headaches and insomnia. The US Drug Enforcement Agency stated that it is commonly used among bodybuilders.
The drug has become popular in the athletic world as it helps reduce weight, and can increase a person’s metabolism. Boxers Canelo Alvarez and Francisco Vargas have tested positive, while cyclist Alberto Contador was banned for two years after testing positive following the 2010 Tour de France.
Alvarez said he ate tainted meat in Mexico, where it is believed that anywhere from 40 to 80 per cent of the country’s beef has traces of clenbuterol.
The “tainted meat” defence has also become popular among athletes, as Kabboord noted on the podcast that “my results were less than one-billionth of a gram and is consistent with a meat or supplement contamination”. However, she could not elaborate on other parts of her case given it was ongoing and that she had retained legal counsel.
Alvarez tested positive before his fight with Gennady Golovkin last year but was able to reschedule after his suspension was lifted. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
The US Anti-Doping Agency has noted there have been reports of clenbuterol use to promote the growth of livestock. Clenbuterol is illegal to use in animals in the US and European Union, while Wada also issued a special report detailing specific warnings about consuming meat that has come from either China or Mexico.
Multiple studies have found that clenbuterol has a number of beneficial effects on rats, which includes improved cardiovascular effects, increased skeletal mass and recovery time from surgery.
