why some athletes use erythropoietin

improvement in athletic results

EPO is naturally occurring in the body and is produced by the kidneys. EPO stimulates the production of red blood cells in bone marrow and regulates the concentration of red blood cells

and hemoglobin in the blood. This is useful for athletes since red blood cells shuttle oxygen to the cells, including muscle cells, enabling them to operate aerobically. By injecting EPO, athletes aim to increase their concentration of red blood cells and, consequently, their aerobic capacity by injecting EPO. If EPO levels are too high the body will produce too many red blood cells, which can lead to blood clotting, heart attack and stroke. In fact, EPO has been implicated in the deaths of several athletes.

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ATHLETE	DRUG FREE	EPO ENHANCED	TIME IMPROVEMENT
A	32:23:00	32:01:00	0:22
B	31:46:00	30:52:00	0:56
C	33:09:00	31:55:00	1:14
D	32:44:00	31:45:00	0:59
E	31:19:00	30:23:00	0:56
F	30:56:00	29:47:00	1:09
G	32:43:00	31:21:00	1:22
H	32:11:00	30:36:00	1:35
I	31:23:00	30:25:00	0:58
J	31:19:00	29:54:00	1:25

A 30km Time Trial of 10 Cyclists on the fringe of elite level competition to test the effects of EPO on an athlete’s performance over a closed course in Hamburg, Germany. Two tests, two weeks apart. First test drug free, second using the performance-enhancing drug EPO.

THE COURSE: 30km undulating.

THE WEATHER: Perfect both days, 26C with clear skies, little to no wind.

RESULTS: The results were staggering in that EPO drastically improves an athlete’s performance. Of the 10 athletes all made significant improvements ranging from 22 seconds to 1:35. EPO was only used for 2 weeks.

This article is in eight parts. This is part three. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8