During a public discussion on 29 April at the University of Birmingham that was hosted by the Engineering & Technology Board (etb) in partnership with the Royal Institution (Ri), the science behind the performances of Olympic athletes was revealed.

Speakers at the University of Birmingham included Craig Sharp (Professor of Sports Science at Brunel University), James Lamont (Innovation Team Leader, adidas), Dr Greg Whyte (Director of Science and Research at the English Institute of Sport), and Claire Davis (School of Engineering, Birmingham University).

According to Dr Greg Whyte, Director of Science and Research at the English Institute of Sport, the public discussions were aimed at explaining the science at work behind the Olympics.

From News-Medical.Net:

Dr Greg Whyte, Director of Science and Research at the English Institute of Sport, who will lead each event said: “Every four years Olympic records previously thought to be unbeatable are broken and new milestones are reached.”

“These three public discussions will not only explain the science at work behind the Olympics, but also highlight the increasingly critical role science, engineering and technology plays in assisting athlete’s participation, and success, in the world’s greatest sports event.”

Dr Whyte will open the discussion by providing an overview of human performance throughout history in our bid to become swifter, higher and stronger. He will be followed by leading industry experts, who will talk on:

i) The physiological limits of human achievement by looking at the differences between humans and animals in terms of speed and endurance;

ii) The advances in sports equipment technology and examine its impact on human performance; and finally;

iii) The effect of advancements in drug testing technology on athletes’ pursuit of excellence.

Modern day Olympics have always been played under the clouds of steroids. With steroids gaining more popularity than ever, it is high time that sportsmen can be educated about the pros and cons of steroids in sports so that no awkward incident occurs at any of the future Olympics.

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Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens are not the only ones creating headlines these days; Jessica Hardy of the US swimming team is now having her share of steroid scandal. United States Anti-Doping Agency has tested Jessica Hardy and was found positive for clenbuterol, a kind of anabolic steroid in July 4 of last year. The United States Anti-Doping Agency did not make the statement until Monday.

The American swimmer was not able to join the 2008 Olympics because of the issue. Jessica Hardy was banned for a year but she will be allowed to compete again in 12 weeks. In the statement made by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, no details were disclosed whether her coach was sanctioned.

From Khaleej Times Online:

An American athlete who withdrew from the 2008 US Olympic swimming trials after a positive drug test has been handed a one-year ban from competition.

US swimmer Jessica Hardy tested postive on July 4 for anabolic agent clenbuterol, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Monday.

USADA didn’t announce the suspension until Monday and has made Hardy’s ban retroactive, meaning she will be eligible to compete again in about 12 weeks.

USADA did not say whether Hardy’s coach was sanctioned.

In April, five Chinese swimmers were slapped with two-year suspensions for testing positive for the same steroid.

Anabolic steroids are popular in the worlds of sports and bodybuilding because of its ability to increase body mass, add extra strength and prolong endurance. Anabolic steroids are considered as a doping drug which is banned and prohibited by sporting bodies such as the Olympics and Major League Baseball.

Clenbuterol, similar to other anabolic steroids available in the market, can be bought from pharmacies only with the presence of a physician’s prescription or written consent. Illegal possession, use and trade of anabolic steroid are punishable by the law.

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Even if the Olympics happened few months ago, news are coming out again because of the controversies that some Olympians are facing now. In the re-test conducted for CERA, few Olympics medalists were found positive on taking endurance-enhancing hormone or steroids.

Some Olympics medalist who were found positive for CERA, the new version of endurance-enhancing hormone are Italian Davide Rebellin - who won a silver medal in cycling, Rashid Ramzi - who won Bahrain’s first gold medal, Greece’s Fani Halkia, Ukraine’s heptathlon silver medalist Lyudmila Blonska, Belarussians Vadim Devyatovsky and Ivan Tikhan, who had finished second and third in the men’s hammer.

From Fan IQ:

I know the 2008 Summer Olympics happened eight months ago, but you’ll pleased to know that there are athletes - gold medal winners even - who are still failing drug tests from the Games.

Thanks to Steroid Nation, which should probably change its name to Steroid Universe, we’ve got news today that Rashid Ramzi - who won Bahrain’s first gold medal ever in the men’s 1500m - has tested positive for blood doping.

Ah, but there’s more! Italian Davide Rebellin - who won a silver medal in cycling - also tested positive too. And just to top it all off, so did German cyclist Stefan Schumaker. So why did it take so long to catch them? Retests to check for the newest form of blood doping of course:

The athletes who were found positive with this performance-enhancing hormone like Rashid Ramzi, Davide Rebellin and German cyclist Stefan Schumaker will return their medals and shall face legal sanctions.

There will be more athletes that might be proven positive with steroids or any type of performance-enhancing drugs if the re-test will be done to participants. The re-test results only prove that even Olympics is not free from steroid users, and cheaters.

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Sports associations like the International Olympic Committee will be having difficult time generating revenues from promoters and sports fans as the years go by. This is because a recent study by France’s Institute for Biomedical Research and Sports Epidemiology (IRMES) says that after 2060 athletes will no longer be capable of breaking world records since by then they would have reached their physiological limits. Considering majority of promoters and fans shell out dough to witness record-breaking performances (that’s why track and field and swimming are the most popular spectator sports in the Olympics) one wonder how the sporting world can cope 50 or 60 years hence.

The study says that only way athletes can break records at that time is with the use of “industrial amounts of anabolic steroids or a product of genetic doping, or indeed both” says an article on Irish Times. Would sports organizations legalize performance-enhancing drugs by then?

But just how exactly IRMES arrived at these conclusions? More on this from the Irish Times.

Irmes analysed all 3,260 world records set since the first modern Olympics in 1896, and, in the end, reckoned athletes are coming very close to reaching their physiological limits. They noticed a common pattern for all events, and based on their mathematical model, estimated that athletes were operating at 75 per cent of their potential in 1896, while in 2008, they would be operating at 99 per cent.

By 2027 the athletes in about half of the events will have reached 100 per cent, and by 2060 they all will. After that the only way a world record is likely to be broken is if the athlete is on industrial amounts of steroids or a product of genetic doping, or indeed both.

That’s a study for another day, and in the meantime it’s up to athletic freaks such as Usain Bolt.

But what the Irmes study didn’t predict was where exactly the records will finish at. Some may well be finished already. The 10.49 that Florence Griffith-Joyner ran for the 100 metres back in 1988 hasn’t been touched in the years since, nor does it look likely to be. Without going into the gruesome details of the rise of Flo-Jo, as she was affectionately known, (widespread rumours of steroid abuse, dead at 38) only one other women has run under 10.7 seconds for the 100 metres, and that was Marion Jones.

In other words Flo-Jo’s record is unlikely to be broken before 2060.

There are several other dodgy records in the books and they are unlikely to be broken before 2060 either. Unless of course the IAAF finally gets some sense and remove all world records from the drug-infested 1980s

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There’s no doubt that Gary Hall Jr’s presence in the sport of swimming will be missed.

Hall had caused ripples, in and out of the pool, with his outspokenness against his fellow swimmers and US swimming officials. You can say that he’s gone against the tide many times over in his career, and now he thinks he’s had enough of the chlorinated environment and is retiring from the scene at the age of 34.

Hall never minces his words on anything, especially if the subjects are his adopted crusades, i.e., anti-doping in swimming and diabetes awareness, and the 10-time Olympic medalist is equally candid when he talked with Associated Press about what prompted his retirement.

Hall failed to make it to the 2008 Olympics when he finished fourth at the 50-meter freestyle finals at the Olympic trials that took place in Omaha on July – only the two top finishers were qualified to fly to Beijing to represent the US.

Hall thinks that to wait out the next Olympics would entail sacrificing his family.

“I’m just not ready to commit myself to another four years,” Hall said in a telephone interview. “It was difficult to be away from my wife and kids this past year to commit myself to training. It’s different when you have kids. To be honest, I was getting more enjoyment out of my kids than I was out of swimming.”

As for his performance at the Olympic trials, Hall openly acknowledged he had a hard time at his last Olympic trials.

“I could probably drag some sponsors along by telling them I was going for another four years,” he said. “But look, it’s not getting any easier. This past round was tough. I took a beating.

“I’m really not disappointed as all with the result. I swam the second-fastest time of my career (21.91 seconds). I hadn’t swam that fast since 2000, which is a long time ago. My time at the trials was good enough to win at any previous Olympic Games. I’m certainly not disappointed. It’s something to be proud of.”

Aside from his family, Hall would like to dedicate his time to his foundation whose advocacy is to promote awareness and provide funding on diabetes.

“I think my assets are better appreciated and more needed in diabetes than they are in the pool,” he said.

He announced his retirement on Friday, in time with the World Diabetes Day. It was in 1999 that Hall was diagnosed with type I diabetes.

He’s also presently testing the waters of the entrepreneurial world, creating a company that would cater to the needs of both his causes. His company develops vitamin supplements, particularly designed for individuals with diabetes as well clean and elite-level athletes so they can be at par with those who use steroids and other performance boosters.

“I’m trying to offer resources to athletes where they can go to have supplements discussed and available … with no concern about cross-contamination or anything like that,” he said. “When you look at my sport, and all sports really, you come to the realization that doping does exist.”

During his meeting with the press at the Olympic trials last July, Hall voiced out that it was not the revolutionary swimsuit which helped swimmers smashed records but the  overflowing supply of steroids.

“Clearly we know now it wasn’t the suit that was causing all these world records to be broken, it was copious amounts of steroids,” Hall told reporters. “Can the suit technology distract from another issue? I think it’s pretty convenient for those that are indulging the other issue.”

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The province of Ontario recently mourned the death of one of its most respected residents – former Ontario Chief Justice Charles Dubin. He died at the age of 87 on October 27 of complications from pneumonia.

Dubin gained international recognition when he headed the investigation on Ben Johnson’s doping case during the Seoul Olympics in 1988, which the Canadian Press described as “a groundbreaking inquiry into drug use in amateur sport.”

Among those who attended the burial service at the Holy Blossom Temple were Ben Johnson and his coach Charlie Francis. Both praised the former justice for his fairness.
“He gave me a fair shake,” Johnson said after the service.

“I don’t have no hard feelings towards him. He’s a great man in his environment, the law, and I respect that.”

“He did his best to bring everything out and give a chance to say how things were,” Francis said. “He was a great man.”

Dubin served on two Royal Commissions, one of which was the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance in 1988. It was under this commission that Johnson confessed to have used the anabolic steroid stanozolol (Winstrol).

On September 24, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, Johnson beat his greatest rival American Carl Lewis in the 100m final. Canadians were ecstatic, but then three days their pride turned to embarrassment when Johnson tested positive for doping. He was later stripped of his gold medal and world record.

The disgraced sprinter initially denied wrongdoing; however, when he testified before the Dubin Inquiry in 1989, Johnson admitted illicit activity. Francis told the investigative body that Johnson had been taking steroids since 1981.

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Fani Halkia was formally charged with steroid use and she could stay behind bars for up to two years if convicted.

George Panagiotopoulus, Halkia’s coach, was likewise charged with administering prohibited substances with a penalty up to three years imprisonment and around $26,000 in fine.

No trial date has been set for both cases. Under the Greek law, doping offenses are considered as misdemeanor.

The Greek sports authorities have been embarrassed by the doping activity of their athletes, calling the series of positive tests among the Greeks as “organized effort”. Fifteen athletes, including Halkia, tested positive for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone, popularly known as M3.

Halkia was disqualified from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when it was announced on August 18 that she tested positive for said steroid. She won the gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Other athletes who tested positive for M3 were sprinters Tassos Gousis and Dimitris Regas. In March this year, 11 members of the Greek weightlifting team tested positive for the same prohibited compound.

M3, also known as R1881 and Metribolone, is a potent but non-aromatizable steroid. It is a 17-methylated derivative of trenbolone, and thus it is sometimes called as “oral tren”.

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We can almost hear Victor Conte saying “I told you so.”

The former BALCO boss has warned anti-doping officials about the possibility of athletes from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations using performance-enhancing drugs. Conte said that these countries lack independent anti-doping bodies and the lack thereof provides athletes a wide berth to juice up.

Reports say that two members of the 2008 Jamaican Olympic track team obtained steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs from an online PEDs distribution ring. Sports Illustrated has the details of this story.

Two members of the 2008 Jamaican Olympic track team received shipments of performance-enhancing drugs through an Internet distribution network, according to documents obtained by SI.

The documents also indicate that in November 2006, a shipment of Testosterone, Testosterone Aqueous, and Oxandrolone (an oral steroid) were sent to Adrian Findlay, an alternate on the Jamaican Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles. The drugs were sent to a North Carolina address that traces to Findlay; the birth date on the document matches the athlete’s as well. Findlay, 25, was also a member of the Jamaican team that placed second in the 4×400 meter relays at the 2008 World Indoor Championships. Findlay attended St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C.

According to SI, multiple attempts to reach Ennis-London for comments failed. Her husband said his wife was competing in Switzerland and cannot be reached. He, however, confirmed that his wife had indeed ordered the drugs in June 2006. He said his wife purchased the drugs to treat vaginal hemorrhaging. He said she ordered them after consulting with a doctor over the phone about her condition. He also said that his wife was not at home when the shipment arrived to open the package. He further explained that the 2007 package “arrived unsolicited and was never opened”.

Reports say that Ennis-London won the race in Switzerland, edging out Beijing Olympics gold medalist Dawn Harper of the United States. Shall we say congratulations?

Meanwhile, Findlay vehemently denied the allegations.

“I’ve been running stable all my life,” he said. “Trust me, I don’t use steroids. I guarantee you it wasn’t mine and I didn’t order it. I have a theory how this was sent,” Findlay said when he was contacted in North Carolina.

Findlay’s alleged source for the banned compounds was South Beach Rejuvenation clinic located in Florida. The same clinic which provided PEDs to slugger Jay Gibbons and who received suspension late last year for doping infringement.

We can’t really tell if it’s pure coincidence, but we learned that two of the most “notable alumini” of St. Augustine’s College down at Raleigh were Antonio Pettigrew and former track coach Trevor Graham. Now, we all know what happened to these two guys and we would like to know what will happen to Findlay and Ennis-London. We’ll keep track of this event.

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The number of athletes who tested positive for steroids and other banned substances had hit 12-year low in the recently concluded Beijing Olympics and yet more and more athletes are being doubted for winning through legitimate means.

Take a look at the case of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American swimming sensation Michael Phelps.

Bolt, who now currently holds both the Olympic and world records for the 100 meters, elicits some suspicion on his superb performance at the Bird’s Nest Stadium as he broke three world records in Beijing, way too easy in the opinions of fans and sports observers alike. This despite the fact that Bolt underwent rigorous and multiple drug screenings and passed them all.

Phelps, on the other hand, raked in eight gold medals in swimming and is now the proud holder of seven world records in swimming. And some opine the latest Spedoo LZR RACER swimwear might not be the only help the 23-year-old swimmer is getting when he hits the water.

The cynical view of many stems from the stark reality that former record holders and seemingly invincible Olympians have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs later on in their careers. Marion Jones and Ben Johnson are just two of the many who had once basked in Olympic glory then retreated in disgrace because of steroid use.

American sprinter Michael Johnson acknowledges this problem.

“It’s unfortunate what has happened to the sport and it has to be addressed and it is being addressed,” Johnson said. “But if someone wants to believe the only way (Bolt) can do what he’s doing is through doping, that is their prerogative.” Johnson’s world record in the 200-meter dash was broken by Bolt in Beijing.

There is also the concern of new class of PEDs, called designer drugs, and newfangled doping techniques constantly emerging from some rudimentary lab in some obscure places across the United States and elsewhere. Gene doping is at the forefront of these new doping technologies and anti-doping officials scramble as they find new ways to detect them.

Remember the case of Marion Jones, et al? Jones, who is currently serving her 6-month prison term due to lying to investigators who questioned her about her use of steroids, breezed through screenings while using the latest designer steroid at that time THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone. Jones, with her apparent use of THG, conquered the track to win five medals in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.  Jones and the other athletes might have continued with such illegal practice had it not been for the whistleblower in their coop, her track coach Trevor Graham.

Only six athletes of the nearly 11,000 participants in Beijing fell to the dragnet of the IOC and the question hangs if how many of these athletes were able to outsmart officials and got away with the gold loot.

From bnd.com:

Clearing the Games’ reputation had been a top priority for the IOC coming into Beijing, and the number of doping tests conducted in competition jumped from 3,500 in Athens to a total of 4,500 planned by the end of the Beijing Games, IOC officials said.

The IOC also launched its first coordinated pre-games testing program, which caught 39 athletes and barred them from participating before the Aug. 8 opening ceremony. Such tests, for example, led to the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team to drop out before the Olympics.
While more positive drug test results could still turn up, especially for substances such as the blood booster erythropoietin, or EPOs, that take longer to detect, IOC officials were celebrating what they said was a victory for athletic fair play.

“We feel the deterrent effect played a part in what we see,” said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies. “The athletes know that at this event the IOC, which is the organization running the doping programs, means business in not having those who cheat as a part of these events.”

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We all know how great Greeks are in diverse fields – philosophy, literature, science and arts, to name just a few.  And because of the Greek diaspora, it has been said that many civilizations across the globe had developed because of the influence of the Greeks.

But these days, however, the Greeks have been losing their distinction especially in the world of sports. This is being witnessed in the ongoing Olympics – which is another Greek’s contribution to the world – as members of the Greek team continue to decrease because of use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. The latest ‘casualty’ is runner Fani Halkia, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid methyltrienolone. AP reports.

A Greek TV station says Fani Halkia, who won gold in the women’s 400 meters hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has tested positive for a banned substance.

Skai TV also said Saturday that Halkia has already left the Olympic village.

Another Greek station, Mega Channel, also said an athlete had tested positive for the banned steroid methyltrienolone. But it did not name the athlete.

Halkia was tested a few days before the Beijing Olympics in Japan, where Greece’s track and field team had been training.

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