A blood pressure pill stripped an Olympic athlete of two medals in Beijing 2008
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A blood pressure pill stripped an Olympic athlete of two medals in Beijing 2008
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Fear and fascination collide: a common blood pressure drug, propranolol, taken by millions, silenced the physical tremors of performers and quietly altered how traumatic memories are stored - and it cost an Olympic shooter his medals in Beijing. How did a heart medicine become a disqualifying performance aid and a tool to soften trauma?
In this episode, we trace the journey of propranolol from James Whyte Whyte’s lab to the Olympic podium and to studies of memory reconsolidation. We explain what the drug does in the body and brain, why it steadied hands for musicians, and how that same effect led to Kim Jong-su losing two Olympic medals - and we ask what this means for medicine, sport, and memory.
Person: Kim Jong-su
Event: 2008 Olympic Games
Medals: Silver (10m air pistol), Bronze (50m pistol) - subsequently stripped
Drug: Propranolol
Scientist: James Whyte Whyte
- Propranolol reached the market in the early 1960s under the brand name Inderal.
- By 1977, 27% of surveyed UK performers had used beta blockers before performances.
- Propranolol’s brain-to-blood ratio can be as high as 15:1 to 33:1, far higher than atenolol’s ~0.2:1.
- James Whyte Whyte received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 in part for developing propranolol.
- Memory reconsolidation is a roughly six-hour window after an experience during which norepinephrine is required to stabilize memories.
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