Marten Van Riel: “What if bronze had been an option?”
Marten Van Riel leading the race in Rio (picture: ITU/Delly Carr)
After the substance abuse debacle by Henri Schoeman, coach Joel Fillion was among the first to react via twitter. Marten Van Riel however bided his time, even though his sixth place makes him more than affected by this matter. We managed to get a hold of him in Fuerteventura where he is training under supervision of Filliol for the new season. Last week he was elected Rising Star 2017 by the ITU but nevertheless he sounded disappointed by the scandal. “This might have influenced the whole race, and certainly the result…” Marten says.
Last week, a bombshell hit the triathlon community with the leaked IOC e-mails containing information that Henri Schoeman performed a positive drug test after the Olympic triathlon in Rio. Schoeman took the bronze medal, admitted the use of Prednisol on his pre-test questionnaire but failed to provide a TUE, a document stating that the use of the substance is for therapeutic reasons.
Marten does not take position on the guilt or innocence of Schoeman. “I’d rather stay neutral in this affair, but whatever the situation, a penalty seems unavoidable as it should be. What bothers me the most is the long lasting silence; this complicates the situation for all concerned parties. Worst of all, this might have influenced the whole race, and certainly the result… especially for me. Who knows what is possible if I’d have been on medal course with 3km to go (the point at which Marten and Schoeman, who had never beaten Marten in a run before, were still together – Red.). I have never gotten a taste of these bronze wings and I cannot say to what they may have lead,” says Marten.
Euforia and breaking the wall
We visited sports physiologist Peter Vervoort to obtain more information about Prednisol, its use and the consequences. It is crystal clear that Peter is strongly countered against the use of TUE, he states that this is a bit more than living on the edge. “Prednisolon are anti-inflammatory based on adrenal cortex hormone (corticosteroids). These hormones slow down infections and can contain hypersensitivity reactions (allergic reactions). Prednisolon enhances the emotional state of the patients as well as inhibits the growth of tumors. It is most often used when the adrenal cortex hormone production of the body is falling behind, meaning when regular anti-inflammatory (diclofenac) or physiotherapy have no effect.
The use of cortisons affects the mental state of the athlete and boosts the production of carbohydrates. It is easier to break through the wall, making this the reason for their application in sports. Did Schoeman make a mistake? Probably so, he must have known the reason why athletes use these. But the current rules state that they are allowed under TUE and if his doctor had applied the regulations, there would have been no talk of substance abuse.
Instead of wasting words on these trivial affairs, we should tackle the root of this problem: scrapping TUE all together. The same goes for sleeping pills, but it’s far easier to turn a blind eye. You can rest assured that tons of athletes use these substances, because they know they can. Are they breaking any rules? Sensu strico, no.” says Peter.
This case adds oil to the fire that is the whole TUE discussion. In the Schoeman case, Sebastian Kienle spoke out strongly against it and then there is the inhalator by Froome on which fellow road cyclists have taken position.
In the meanwhile, ITU has started an investigation. They took contact with Schoeman, who admitted being sick two days prior to the race in Rio. He has promised his full cooperation to the investigation. This will certainly be continued.
Original article posted in 3athlon.be by Hans Cleemput on 22/01/2018
Translated by @T0v3