Were Chris Froome (After Froome’s failed drugs test, is this the end for Team Sky?, 14 December) to be listed as a disabled athlete, he could inhale his salbutamol – as he has since childhood – and win the Tour de France against able-bodied competitors. He would then be a double hero. Is the World Anti-Doping Agency suggesting that disabled athletes who take medicines – and many will – are cheats?
Such doping control inconsistencies are commonplace. While the doping authorities allow wealthy athletes to train at altitude in order to boost their erythropoietin (EPO) levels, poorer ones who get the same effect by injection are seen as cheats. The current arrangements are puritanical nonsense.
Joe Collier
Emeritus professor in medicines policy, St George’s, University of London
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