All the Pyeongchang PED cases presented with pictures of paternal joy

Doping is depressing. Dads are delightful. Every time you learn about an Olympic athlete caught taking PEDs, counter with a photo of an Olympian’s happy dad.

For whatever reason, NBC has had a borderline Dad Cam at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. Perhaps it’s their enthusiasm, perhaps it’s their elite sign-making abilities (laminate! rhyming schemes!) or mustaches, perhaps its NBC affinity for showing more men than women on their screens. Who is to say. But in this case and potentially this case only, NBC’s commitment to showing men of a certain age is welcome.

Elsewhere in Olympic coverage, outlets have been reporting the very disappointing news of athlete doping. i.e. Olympians testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs of varying kinds and the IOC asking said Olympians to leave the Athletes Village and oftentimes return home. There have been three such cases thus far. No one should have to deal with such buzzkill news without some kind of chaser, so allow us to present to you a rundown of the Pyeongchang doping cases with endearing photos of joyful fathers celebrating their children’s extremely impressive accomplishments. Here are your dopes and dads.

1. Flip past Kai Saito with Papa Kim

Kei Saito, the Japanese short track speed skater, was the first person removed from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics for doping. He tested positive for acetazolamide, a diuretic and masking agent, but one that is also used to treat altitude sickness. It’s a curious inclusion.

In any case, it’s always disheartening to hear news of doping and this was the first such instance at the 2018 games.

However, there is no bad news that a photo of Chloe Kim’s dad Jong Jin Kim cannot fix. Here he is cheering her on as she won a gold medal in women’s slopestyle snowboarding. (The Chloe Kim/Jong Jin Kim rabbit hole is an amazing and emotional place.)

2. Counter curling’s Krushelnitckii with Shiffrin, Sr.

Aleksandr Krushelnitckii, an Olympic Athletes from Russia, an athlete who, you will remember, is competing under the Olympic flag specifically because his country was found guilty of widespread, systematic doping in Sochi, tested positive for Meldonium, a banned substance.

Meldonium is also a curious substance for which to test positive. It technically inhibits the creation of a substance that cells use to burn fat to produce energy — so, in theory, it should inhibit athletic performance, not enhance it. Scientists aren’t even sure it should count as a PED.

And yet, it’s banned, and Krusheltnitckii, who won a bronze medal in mixed doubles curling, tested positive. It could affect Russia’s invitation to the 2022 games; the Russian delegation is fighting the charges. All around: Bummer.

Here is Mikaela Shiffrin’s dad, after she won a gold medal in the giant slalom. Jeff — a very good name for a dad — is an anesthesiologist who raced for Dartmouth’s ski team and taught his daughter to ski. Look what a happy dad he is.

3. Zip right past Ziga Jeglic news with “Master of the Sign” Biney

Slovenian ice hockey player Ziga Jeglic was having a pretty good Winter Olympics — scoring the winning goal against Slovakia in a preliminary round — when he got busted for PEDs. Well, when he tested positive for fenoterol in an in-competition test and accepted the anti-doping violation.

Fenoterol is an airway-opening asthma drug that he says he took under medical advice. He claims he forgot to declare it for the therapeutic use exception and has since had to leave the Athletes’ Village.

But don’t think about that, instead, look at these wonderful signs made by speedskater Maame Biney’s dad, Eweku Biney. (Admittedly, these signs came from previous competitions. Eweku was present, accounted for and cheering away during Maame’s Olympic races, but for some reason, no photographic evidence has yet made it to Twitter.)

Honorable Mentions:

The following parents have provided some truly exceptional moments watching their children compete and sometimes win at the Winter Olympics:

• Red Gerard’s family, who collectively began his gold-medal-winning day shot-gunning beers while Red himself overslept
• Mirai Nagasu’s parents, who missed her historic triple axel in the team event running their restaurant, but traveled to Korea see their daughter compete

Next: Winter Olympic sports, ranked by how frequently your uncle thinks 'I could do that'

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