'Kang Bak', a 12-year veteran track and field athlete, revealed the story of how she failed a doping test due to ADHD medications.
On the afternoon of the 4th, the comprehensive programming channel MBN's entertainment program 'Kang Bak' featured track and field athlete Kang Bak discussing her struggles with adult ADHD, which forced her to pause her athletic career.
Kang Bak introduced herself by saying, "I have been a track and field athlete for 12 years and have been doing sports since middle school and elementary school." She added, "Last year, I recorded in the top three in Korea, and I had the ambition to make the national team if I placed in the top two. No matter how much I repeated it, my distractibility didn't go away. I felt that my daily life was seriously impacted, experiencing it twice within a week."
She continued, "After being diagnosed with adult ADHD, I consistently visited the hospital and received medication. While I was continuously coming in first place during competitions last year, I received the results of my drug test late and was found to be doping. It felt like the world was collapsing when I learned that ADHD medication would result in a doping violation. I received a lot of suspensions."
Kang Bak said, "I worked hard, training alone on Sundays when others were out enjoying themselves and stayed only in my accommodation. My efforts to break my personal best and come in first seemed to pay off. However, when the results came out, everyone said, 'You did well because of the medication.' It felt like all my hard work and sweat were negated."
She reflected, "It was really tough, and even when people just looked at me, it felt like they were saying, 'She's the one who failed a drug test.' They weren't talking about me, but it felt like they were discussing my story. I drank a lot in my room. I took four days' worth of sleeping pills at once and slept for three days, and it felt really good. So I took four days' worth of sleeping pills again and slept. I didn't even realize it, but I had written a very long will."
[Photo] Captured from MBN broadcast.
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