The dark ages of doping are long over. I assure you, most of the athletes that are doping are fully aware of themeselves while competing, not only in biathlon. That's because the substances like ephedrine and cocaine are so easily detectable and, as mentioned, they would be counterproductive in biathlon because of the shooting. Drugs that would be beneficial in the shooting part (like beta-blocker, they put the heartrate down) are counterproductive in the cross-country skiing part and are also easily detectable.I have always been confused as to why it would be advantageous to dope in biathlon. As you say, it would work for the skiing part. But surely you need to be fully with yourself when you're shooting. Like, it is only a very small target, and it is a good distance away. And if you are doped up to the two eyeballs, surely there is more chance of missing.
But drugs that enhance endurance (like EPO) don't affect the shooting negatively, quite the opposite, because the heartrate goes down faster before shooting. So you shoot better and you run faster. That's a win-win.




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