The International Olympic Committee opened a series of meetings for examining the last-minute preparations for the Vancouver Winter Games and deal with doping and ethics cases and future Olympics.

“We are in a world with uncertain meteorology – we have to adapt to it,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said recently.

From Nzherald.co.nz:

Away from Vancouvermatters, the IOC board will also examine a new United Statesdoping case that could lead to the stripping of gold medals from the women’s 4×400 relay team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Crystal Cox, who ran in the preliminaries, admitted using anabolic steroids and accepted a four-year suspension and disqualification of her results from 2001 to 2004, according to the US Anti-Doping Agency.

“There is a permanent contingency planning for the entire duration of the Games. If there would be too much snow or not enough snow, we will act on that,” Rogge said.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Athens Olympics, Crystal Cox, doping, olympics, Vancouver Winter Games

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Five weightlifters were expelled from the Olympics for failing to clear drug tests, with the authorities bracing themselves for more bans to follow.

Earlier, the International Weightlifting Federation suspended two more weightlifters who failed out-of-competition drugs tests.

From Independent.ie:

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, who has taken a far harder stance on drugs cheats than some of his predecessors, praised the International Weightlifting Federation for testing their athletes as a matter of course before competition.

Mandatory tests were introduced before the Barcelona Games in 1992, but the sport is still notorious for its drug cheats.

IWF chief Tamas Ajan said a female athlete from Myanmar competing in the 48kg category and an Indian female athlete, whose weight category was not revealed, had tested positive to anabolic steroids and diuretics respectively.

Ajan told reporters, “The problem of doping spreads beyond weightlifting and can be centred around some foreign coaches who will go to different countries in order to make model competitors.”

Tags: anabolic steroids, diuretics, International Weightlifting Federation, olympics, weightlifting

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Latvia’s lone rowing competitor, Andris Reinholds, is facing a life ban from the sport after he became the fifth athlete to be kicked out of the Olympics for failing a drug test.

Reinholds, who finished eighth in the single sculls, tested positive for the steroid nandrolone following a random urine test.

From News.bbc.co.uk:

The test showed a level four times above the allowable threshold and rowing’s governing body FISA confirmed it would consider banning Reinholds for life.

Although the Latvian delegation were not available for comment, International Olympic Committee medical commission chairman Prince Alexandre de Merode said they were claiming Reinhold’s positive test resulted from using Chinese herbal medicine.

Reinholds, a builder and engineer who is coached by his wife, listed “winning a medal at the world championships or at the Sydney Olympics” as one of his lifetime goals.

Expulsion

In Atlanta four years ago he finished 10th in the single sculls and ninth in the double event, while in 1997 he finished fourth in both the world championships in Munich and the world rowing cup in Paris.

Having been thrown out of the Olympics, Reinhold’s fate now rests with the FISA, who claim drug offences in rowing are “extremely rare.”

The expulsion of Reinhold brings the number of competitors thrown out of the Sydney Games to five.

Tags: Andris Reinholds, nandrolone, olympics, steroid, Sydney Olympics

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The science behind performances of Olympic athletes was revealed at 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 public discussions emphasized upon explanation to the science at work behind the Olympics, as per Dr Greg Whyte, Director of Science and Research at the English Institute of Sport.

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.

The list of 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).

It seems that the aim of these discussions was on educating sportsmen about the pros and cons of steroids in sports.

Tags: olympics, pros and cons of steroids, steroids, Steroids in Sports

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Olympics

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.

Tags: Olympic athletes, olympics, pros and cons of steroids, sports equipment technology, Steroids in Sports

Posted in buy steroids, Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids

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.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Jessica Hardy, olympics, steroids, United States Anti-doping Agency

Posted in buy steroids, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Olympics, Steroids in Sports

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.

Tags: CERA, olympics, performance-enhancer hormone, Ramzi, Rebellin, steroid

Posted in buy steroids, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Olympics, Steroids in Sports

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

Tags: French Institute of Sport, gene doping, IRMES, olympics, Performance enhancing drugs, physiological limits of athletes, steroids, world records

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Olympics, Steroids in Sports

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.”

Tags: anabolic steroids, diabetes, doping in swimming, Gary Hall Jr., olympics, retirement of Gary Hall Jr, steroids

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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.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Ben Johnson, Charles Dubin, Dubin Inquiry, olympics, stanozolol, steroid, steroids, winstrol

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Olympics, Steroids in Sports