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The Czech Republic's Katerina Nash, a three-time Olympic mountain biker and two-time Olympic cross-country skier, had a positive doping test exonerated and a four-year sanction overturned after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency determined that the banned substance found in her system was a dog medication that came into contact with her skin while she attempted to give her furry friend, a Viszla named Rubi, drops of the liquid orally.
"It's devastating to think that, like, not washing my hands could ruin my entire career, being an athlete for 30 years," she told Eddie Pells of the Associated Press. "But there's no regrets. I would not have cared for my dog in any different way. But in the end, I was touching this medicine every day for about three straight weeks."
USADA's scientists first identified the substance that caused the positive test as Entyce, which is given to sick dogs as an appetite booster, then applied small amounts to their own skin to see if they registered positive tests. When they did, Nash's positive test was overturned and her punishment was retracted.
"The challenge with anti-doping is that the sensitivity has gotten so good that now we've got this overlap between what's doping and what's exposure in the environment that you may be subjected to as an athlete," USADA's lead scientist, Dr. Matt Fedoruk, told Pells.
So athletes who may come into contact with medications for their pets should maybe wear gloves. The testing protocols have become incredibly sophisticated and sensitive.
Switzerland's Nino Schurter won mountain biking gold in the men's cross-country final at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. The current world champion added the Olympic crown after a late attack helped him pull away from London 2012 winner Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic.
The two led the way for long portions of the race, as some of the biggest names in the field struggled.
Slovakia's Peter Sagan ran into disaster when a front-tyre puncture took him from third to out of the leading mix. While misfortune slowed Sagan, France's Julien Absalon battled hard but couldn't stay with the leaders in his last race before retirement.
Here are the results and medal winners from the day's race:
| Place | Rider | Time |
| Gold | Nino Schurter (SUI) | 1:33:28 |
| Silver | Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE) | 1:34:18 |
| Bronze | Carlos Coloma (ESP) | 1:34:51 |
| 4 | Maxime Marotte (FRA) | 1:35:01 |
| 5 | Jhonnatan Botero (COL) | 1:35:44 |
| 6 | Mattias Fluckiger (SUI) | 1:35:52 |
| 7 | Luca Braidot (ITA) | 1:36:25 |
| 8 | Julien Absalon (FRA) | 1:36:43 |
For the full results, visit the Rio 2016 official site.
A flat front tyre just over five kilometres into the race left Sagan frustrated. He was already struggling somewhat in third place.
Unfortunately for the Slovakian rider, although the problem occurred early enough for him to stage a strong comeback, he couldn't make up enough ground. His delay allowed Schurter to stretch the lead, with Kulhavy joining the front at the Rio rocks.
The race soon became a direct rivalry between Schurter and Kulhavy. Conspicuous by his absence was Schurter's usual foe, Absalon. The Frenchman was labouring further back as Schurter and Kulhavy worked the front.
Spaniard Carlos Coloma Nicolas soon tried to interject himself into the mix, but he couldn't maintain his pace ahead of the long mountain climb at the Coconut Beach section.
There were signs of a comeback from Absalon, as he battled to make up ground on the outside. He was slightly over one minute behind Kulhavy on the descent toward the Rio rocks.
Further back, the arduous course had claimed another victim when Portugal's David Rosa saw his bike ruined when the back wheel was bent out of shape.
Meanwhile, Absalon was struggling to make up ground on the two leaders and first chaser Coloma. So it was still Schurter and Kulhavy at the front as the final four laps approached.
Sarah Connolly of ProWomensCycling.com detailed how the overall pace was lagging as the race entered its latter stage:
Kulhavy started to push, as Schurter looked like he was losing some speed through the technical sections. Absalon was also still pushing, but he couldn't get near the top chasers in the heavy conditions.
Among those chasers, France's Maxime Marotte joined Coloma. The pair chased hard, but the leaders kept on finding something extra to stretch their lead.
Schurter's main concern was when to try to power away from Kulhavy, knowing how the Czech Republic rider could sprint away from him in a close race to the line, the way he did in London four years ago.
Yet Hannah Dobson of Singletrack Magazine felt she could see hints of a drop from Kulhavy:
It looked that way when Schurter finally sprinted away from Kulhavy. His bold and well-timed attack opened a decisive gap. It was one Kulhavy couldn't make up, as Schurter was just too good on the day.
Meanwhile, the battle for bronze was finally settled when Coloma made his own late attack to grab the medal and leave Marotte frustrated.
Never ride a mountain bike down the side of an icy mountain, not even a little bit in the beginning.
Because the beginning is the most dangerous part—well, after the downhill slalom that shoots you across a field of jagged rock. That's probably the most dangerous part, actually.
But don't take my word for it. Watch the GoPro footage uploaded by Reddit user Spinistry (h/t For The Win's Nick Schwartz) and enjoy the sensation of your nethers tightening like a snare drum.
What you're looking at is a bike race/death slalom called the Megavalanche. It's a mountain bike event that runs down Pic Blanc—a section of Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps—and it is only for crazy people unafraid of death by blunt force.
If you're heard of Alpe d'Huez before, that may be because it's considered the most grueling mountain section of the Tour de France—a climb that takes riders past the tree line and high enough to start seeing collections of atmospheric snow.
On the road (which cuts back and forth for safety and ease of travel), descents from this height can reach speeds in excess of 50 mph. So keep that in mind as you're watching these mountain bikers descend an ungroomed course of snow, slush and rock.
If it's any indication of what's being undertaken here, our racer/observer runs over a guy in the first five seconds and still finishes in seventh place.
Never do this.
Dan is on Twitter. He's been run over by a bike before and can confirm it's as fun as it sounds.
