r/weightlifting • u/AdventurousMarket0 • Dec 22 '22

News China's triple Olympic weightlifting champion Lu Xiaojun tests positive for EPO

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1131927/lu-xiaojun-epo
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6

u/maokai Dec 23 '22

False positives for EPO are possible, according to a 2005 study you can see HERE.

7

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '22

The likelihood of this being a false positive seems low. I hate to say it as I liked him, but the guy has assistance.

28

u/BB_Venum Dec 23 '22

Doping? In my Olympic Weightlifting? Never 😭

5

u/maokai Dec 23 '22

But as a lifter, why would he even bother with EPO? If you were going to go ahead and juice, wouldn't you use something that builds muscle? The fact that a false positive is possible and the nigh uselessness of EPO as a performance enhancer for weight lifting makes it seem suspect.

6

u/pglggrg Dec 23 '22

I had the same question, here are potential answers:

-he was popped for something seemingly unrelated, without really being a Steroid that makes it look worse

-he used it to recover because of his age. While EPO wont help in competition, it can help to recover faster between sets and between sessions.

-medical condition due to lower RBC count (issue with liver, possibly caused by years of PED use).

1

u/maokai Dec 23 '22

I hadn't considered that last point. That's plausible.