Fleshman, Mackey, and Magness debate the thyroid issue (Part II)
Apr 12, 2013
Part II of the panel discussion on hypothyroidism goes into more depth about the specifics and possible benefits of synthetic thyroid. Steve Magness, Danny Mackie, and Lauren Fleshman debate the nature of "performance-enhancing" and explain why there's some controversy to the diagnoses. Watch Part I HERE. Read the original Wall Street Journal article HERE. Magness elaborates on the thyroid debate on his blog HERE Again, we know that people don't have time to watch the entire discussion, so timestamps about important talking points are listed below. 0:00 - If an athlete takes thyroid medication to get the thyroid back to its original level, should that be considered performance-enhancing? (Mackey, Fleshman) 2:50 - Magness explains auto-immune disorder and recovery between workouts 4:46 - What are the hypothetical benefits of synthetic thyroid? Magness elaborates on hypoxia-induced factor 1 (regulator for EPO increases) and an increase in red blood cells. 6:45 - Mackey questions the ethical benefits of giving athletes a 1% gain 7:43 - Fleshman signs off and gives a final message to the running community 9:45 - In a perfect world, how would the anti-doping organizations monitor synthetic thyroid? 10:52 - The link between hyperthyroid and HGH in the MLB 12:12 - Mackey went to two different endocrinologists and was given two different diagnoses 14:23 - Can there be a universally accepted level that distinguishes hypothyroidism? (Magness and Mackey) 16:50 - Mackey's closing thoughts and coaching philosophies 18:04 - Magness' concluding thoughts on why the thyroid is such a complex issue ("Diagnoses is key.") 21:24 - If any college elite athlete wants to get a thyroid study going, contact Magness! We also really enjoyed Fleshman's closing quote, so we included it below: "Why would you do something now that's going to be illegal two or three years from now that will put all of your previous accomplishments in question? Where we look back at the stars of the '70s, '80s, and '90s and question all kinds of things they did because of advancements in anti-doping since then. Your legacy will not live unless you do things right and unless you follow the spirit of the law. So, that's the perspective I take and just encourage people to take."
