Pendrel among latest to have TUE data leaked

In the latest data dump by the Russian hacker group that goes by the name Fancy Bears, Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Catharine Pendrel was one of 41 athletes who had their confidential therapeutic use exemption data leaked. The hackers have been periodically releasing data that was stolen from the World Anti-Doping Agency in August. The medical files show which athletes were granted use of substances normally banned under WADA rules unless an athlete receives a TUE from a doctor. None of the cyclists whose data was revealed related to the Rio games.

The data new data that has been leaked continues the trend of revealing the use of medications used for the treatment of respiratory ailments and asthma. The exception is Pendrel whose TUE was for a one-time use pain medication used before having thumb surgery early this year.

Among the 41 athletes who data was leaked, two Olympic gold medalists from Switzerland were named along with other high profile cyclists who competed in Rio. Fabian Cancellara won gold in the men’s road cycling time trial ahead of Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and Nino Schurter is the Olympic champion in men’s mountain biking. Danish silver medalist in the men’s road race Jakob Fuglsang, Great Britain’s Steve Cummings and Canadian mountain biker Raphaël Gagné were also included in the latest list.

The leaked documents indicated that Pendrel received a TUE for a one-time use of the pain medication remifentaline. Pendrel suffered a broken thumb in late-February that required pins to be surgically inserted into her hand in order to stabilize the bone. Remifentalin is a short-acting pain medication used in surgery and for sedation.

“There need to be avenues for athletes to get the medications they need,” said Pendrel who spent Friday traveling between CrossVegas where she finished seventh and Iowa where the second round of the cyclocross World Cup is being held. “There are a lot of good reasons for people to be skeptical but TUEs need to be in place. I needed to apply for this anesthetic for my surgery.”

Following the leak, the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sports reached out to Pendrel to offer her their support. Though some of the athletes implicated in the leak were operating in a grey area, athletes have avenues that allow them to get the medications they need. “Maybe WADA needs to be more stringent, I do feel this is a good wake up call for them to re-assess the system,” explained Pendrel.

After recovering from the injury, Pendrel would go on to claim the overall world cup title taking the lead in the last race of the season in Vallnord. She earned her first Olympic medal in Rio after representing Canada in Beijing and London.

Rio gold medalist Schurter had four TUE certificates leaked which allowed him to use medications prescribed to threat asthma and other respiratory ailments. He received permission to use formoterol for a 12-month period starting on June 11, 2008 and another ending in July 24, 2013. According to the leaked data he also received a prescription for budesonide, a steroid medication, for a one year period beginning on June 11, 2008 and the glucocorticoid ciclesonide under the brand name Alvesco ending in June of 2014.

Five-time world time trial champion, Cancellara had two TUE certificates leaked. One was for a dose of the corticosteroid methylprednisolone on August 17, 2011 and a second for the corticosteroid prednisolone that is used as an anti-inflammatory on May 18, 2013. According to his team, the two TUEs were to treat bee stings.

“Trek-Segafredo and Fabian Cancellara confirm that Cancellara received therapeutic use exemptions  for the treatment of severe allergic reactions to bee stings on August 17, 2011, and May 18, 2013,” the team wrote in a statement. “The treatments were administered in respective urgent care centers where Cancellara was treated, and not by a team doctor.”

The single TUE Cummings received was for the asthma medication salbutamol on December 10, 2008 which was prescribed for a 12-month period. Olympic silver medalist, Jakob Fulgsang had a single TUE for a dose of the long-acting synthetic corticosteroid triamcinolone at a mountain bike world championships on an unspecified date. Wiggins is under scrutiny for a TUE for the same substance.

Finally, a TUE for Canadian Olympian Gagné indicates he received a prescription for salbutamol running until July of 2013.