Paralympic Games stripped after his positive drug test. At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Swedish curler Glenn Ikonen tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for six months by the IPC. He was removed from the rest of the curling competition but his team was allowed to continue. The 54-year-old curler said his doctor had prescribed a medication on the banned substances list. Another concern now facing Paralympic officials is the technique of "boosting". Athletes can artificially increase their blood pressure, often by self-harming, which has been shown to improve performance by up to 15%. This is most effective
LGBT athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games LGBT athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes have competed in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, either openly, or having come out some time afterward. Relatively few LGBT athletes have competed openly during the Olympics. Out of the 104 openly gay and lesbian participants in the Summer Olympics as of 2012, 53% have won a medal. Cyd Zeigler, Jr., founder of the LGBT athletics website "Outsports", reasoned that this could be the result of the relieved focus and lack of "burden" an athlete would have after coming out, that "high-level athletes" are more