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”.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Fani Halkia, George Panagiotopoulos, Greek athletes, M3, methyltrinolone, olympics, oral tren, steroid, steroids

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

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.

Tags: Adrian Findlay, anabolic steroids, Delloreen Ennis-London, Jay Gibbons, olympics, St. Augustine College, steroid, steroid and PEDs shipment for Jamaican athletes, steroids

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

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.”

Tags: athletes on steroids, Beijing Olympics, doping results, Marion Jones, Michael Phelps, olympics, Polish weightlifting team, sprint, steroids, swimming, Usain Bolt, weightlifting

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

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.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Fani Halkia, Greek team, hurdles, methyltrienolone, olympics

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

The reality is with us for a long time, but the acknowledgement comes just now.

Olympic officials finally admit the truth the Games may never be completely free from steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Months leading up to the Summer Games in Beijing has netted dozens of athletes who tested positive for banned substance and/or violated testing protocols. And the fact that quite a few of those violators were possible gold winners rattles key sports leaders.

To keep up with the advancement in doping practices – emergence of new methods and drugs that elude screening – anti-doping officials adopt new testing policy for the coming years. It’s a paradigm shift for many anti-doping organizations as they adopt new procedures to respond to the newfangled problems in sports today.

Among these procedures is the so-called deterrent effect. Official will conduct frequent testing as well as scientific studies in designer drug detection. In Beijing Olympics, for example, WADA is expected to conduct 4,500 drug tests, the highest ever in the history of Olympics. Four years ago in Athens, WADA oversaw 3,500 tests and came up with 26 positive cases.

“I’ve said that we could expect between 30 and 40 positive cases [during the Games],” said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge. “That is the extrapolation of the figures from Athens…If we have less, we must be extremely glad because that will mean that there has been a deterrent effect.

“Am I disappointed that there is still doping? Of course, I am. I hate doping. But we have to be realistic. It would be wrong to be Utopians. Doping is to sport what criminality is to society and there will always be criminality in society.”

Because of the stepped-up policy, the top five finishers in each event and two randomly chosen competitors will undergo a combination of blood tests and checks for the presence of synthetic EPO, an endurance-boosting hormone. Olympic organizers will also test for human growth hormone (HGH), the first they will do so. Further, scientists will also test for other key hormone levels and other signs that may indicate an athlete’s attempt to artificially enhance his or her performance.

Also as part of the new program, samples will be stored for eight years which will allow officials to conduct retests when scientists develop more efficient methods of detection.

John Fahey, head of WADA, is glad with other countries’ efforts to dissuade athletes from using performance-enhancing drugs. “…they (countries) have embarked upon a systematic testing regime in the months leading up to departure of their teams for Beijing. . . . I hope that in two weeks’ time, when we walk away from here, we’ve seen results that have made a significant step in the way back to confidence and integrity in sport.”

USADA testing program – will athletes come out clean?

Prior to the Beijing Olympics, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has recently adopted a pilot testing program with the goal of ideally getting rid of use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in sports. The program has involved twelve American athletes who are preeminent in their respective sport discipline. The volunteer athletes include champion US sprinter Tyson Gay, record-setting swimming superstars Michael Phelps and Dara Torres; and Allyson Felix, two-time 200 meter world champion.

The USADA program has required a two-week period of blood and urine testing to determine a body chemistry baseline. After the baseline has been set, the volunteers have undergone unannounced blood and urine tests. Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of USADA, considered the program as the most advanced and comprehensive in the world.

Gay volunteered to the program to help clean the image of his sport. There had been doping scandals that now and then pop in mainstream media that involve high-profile track stars. Marion Jones, who is currently serving a six-month prison term, comes quickly to mind when talking about doping in athletics.

“I definitely understand people questioning people running fast because we’ve had several track athletes busted for steroids in the past,” Gay said. “I get tested whenever they want to test me. If it’s six vials of blood one week, then again the next week, that’s just the price I have to go through to make sure everything is OK.”

Tygart is also optimistic about the program’s end result.

“The general climate in sports today creates an unfair environment where athletes, whether setting world records or competing at an older age, are all of a sudden accused of doing it by performance-enhancing drugs,” Tygart said. “We want to do everything possible to take away that stigma for the clean athletes. We want to give athletes a testing platform that we all can have comfort in knowing they’re actually clean. That’s a dream of ours.”

Archaic and high-tech doping

According to a Boston Globe article, sports officials now have to contend with both low-tech methods (urine swapping) and revolutionary means (gene doping) to outsmart testing protocol.

The seven Russian track-and-field athletes caught days before the Games are accused of tampering with urine samples. DNA taken from the urine did not match DNA taken from the athletes, prompting one Olympics official to call it a case of “systematic doping.” Whether that proves true or not, urine tampering is a prime example of back-to-the-future cheating by athletes. Using someone else’s urine to pass drug tests was first done roughly 40 years ago.

As athletes try to evade new drug tests, future doping scandals appear likely to involve either low-tech methods from the past or frighteningly advanced science.

Gene doping is on the horizon for the 2012 London Olympics, though its short- and long-term effects are still largely unknown. To alter themselves on a cellular level, athletes inject synthetic genes designed to either promote muscle growth or increase endurance. Since the synthetic genes blend easily with the athlete’s DNA, it is impossible to detect gene doping without multiple muscle biopsies, which is not exactly practical when officials are already performing 4,500 tests during the Olympics.

“There is an expertise that makes us more effective than we ever were before,” said Fahey, the WADA chief. “That doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t cheats out there still, or that there might always be cheats out there.”

Gene doping, Fahey said, “May become something that enters the lexicon of doping in the days ahead, and we want to be there to pick it up and deal with it at an earlier stage. Much of what we do is about public health. At this point, we’re thinking about the world’s elite athletes. But to the point that this or any of those other drugs are taken, there is a risk to the health, sometimes the lives, of those who are doping.”

Unfortunately, that is not a strong enough deterrent for some athletes seeking gold. If athletes are willing to risk their lives by using steroids or gene doping, it is easy to see why measures taken by sports leaders can only lessen, not eliminate, cheating.

Tags: doping, enhancing drugs, EPO, gene doping, human growth hormone, olympics, performance, steroids, Tyson Gay, USADA, WADA

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

A Newsweek article poses the question: “Is gene doping the next Olympic threat?”

Days before the Olympics Games opened in Beijing a German television aired a documentary showing that despite the crackdown of Chinese authorities on steroid trade (manufacturers, dealers, and users were targeted) there is still conduits of steroids operating in the host country. And what is more troubling, at least from the point of view of anti-doping officials, is the emergence of new form of performance-enhancing method – gene doping.

Nowadays, just the mere mention of the phrase ‘genetic modification’ makes a heated debate. Remember Dolly the sheep in 1996? Since then, arguments about the ethics and morality of modifying or altering one’s genetic makeup sprout from different sectors of the society, each endorsing their popular (or unpopular) take on the issue.

What is exactly is gene doping?

The World Anti-Doping Agency defined gene doping as the “non-therapeutic use of cells, genes, genetic elements, or of the modulation of gene expression, having the capacity to improve athletic performance”. It was in 2001 that the International Olympic Committee first tackled the possible impact of gene therapy for athletic performance. Then in 2002 two significant events were carried out to address the issue. First it was the meeting of WADA at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, discussing genetic enhancement. Then the United State’s President’s Council met twice to deliberate the ethics of this genetic technology vis-à-vis its use in sport. A year later, WADA included the prohibition of gene doping within their World Anti-Doping Code, which was later formalized in 2004. In 2005, WADA drafted a sort of declaration of war against gene doping in sport. In 2006, in the period leading up to Olympic Winter Games in Turin, the first product to be linked with gene doping surfaced. It was Repoxygen, a tradename for a type of gene therapy being developed to treat anemia.

In the German documentary, a reporter posed as a coach who wanted to avail of stem-cell treatment for his swimmers. The Chinese doctor, whose face was blurred to hide his identity and whose confident answer was translated to English said, “Yes. We have no experience with athletes here, but the treatment is safe and we can help you. It strengthens lung function and stem cells go into the bloodstream and reach the organs. It takes two weeks. I recommend four intravenous injections … 40 million stem cells or double that, the more the better. We also use human growth hormones, but you have to be careful because they are on the doping list.”

The athlete’s DNA could be modified in a number of ways which includes inhalation and injection of genes into muscles or bones thereby creating proteins which could enter the tissue or blood. And athletes who want to have advantage over their opponents find this method ideal since gene doping is harder to detect than, say, banned compounds like anabolic steroids. This presents a Catch-22 for anti-doping officials. Many of the modifications might be hard to detect since the body is capable of producing them naturally; in other words, there would be many instances when testers could not tell if the substances were occurring endogenously or had been introduced artificially into the system.

However, Dr. Ted Friedman believes they are now on the verge of finding effective ways that could determine if an athlete had undergone genetic alteration. These ways could be via tissue, blood, and urine tests.  “There are interesting preliminary results, but I can’t expand on that,” Friedmann says. “This idea still needs to prove itself,” Friedmann explains. “But we’re all encouraged by the results, and WADA very much wants to be ahead of the curve on this and has funded a dozen or more labs on gene doping.” Friedmann is a leading authority on gene therapy and director of the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine. Friedmann works closely with WADA since he is named president of the American Society of Gene Therapy in 2006.

When asked if this could this be the first Olympics in which athletes are discovered altering their own DNA, Friedmann tells Newsweek: “It would not surprise me at all if this were to occur.”

Freidmann also talks about the Repoxygen case that happened in 2006. It involved a German trainer Thomas Springsteen who was reportedly searching on the Web for “a source of material for a sophisticated genetic procedure.” Allegedly, Springsteen was on the lookout for Repoxygen, which is actually a virus that contains a gene that could increase the level of erythropoietin (EPO). EPO is a hormone that activates bone marrow to produce more red blood cells. EPO is now one of the most commonly used performance boosters by athletes engaged in sport disciplines requiring power and endurance, such as cycling and weightlifting.

The Newsweek article ends with the statements that gene doping is now a reality to be confronted by sport leaders.

As these Olympics continue, the more “traditional” ways of cheating through doping are still what concern Olympics officials most. But gene doping is looming on the horizon. Because it is so new and complicated, it still poses great risks: a handful of patients who have undergone gene therapy for diseases like leukemia have died. So Friedmann insists that sporting authorities must err on the side of caution. “If gene doping is happening already, as we suspect, it’s being done unethically and with immature technology, and that makes it inherently very dangerous,” Friedmann says. “Most of the information is already published and in the medical literature, the opportunity is there, there is the pressure on these athletes to perform, and of course so much money is potentially involved. Few of us would be shocked if something were going on at these Olympics. But whether anything is discovered during these next few weeks remains to be seen.” Friedmann hopes the research he’s doing now will lead to such discoveries at future Games.

Tags: anabolic steroids, EPO, gene doping, genetic modification, olympics, steroids, WADA

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

The Azerbaijan women’s field hockey team must be fuming over the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s recent decision. CAS has upheld its first decision not to allow the Azerbaijan team to take the place of the hockey team from Spain who has reportedly committed doping violations during their qualifying games.

From AP:

The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed a second request by the Azerbaijan women’s field hockey team Wednesday to replace the Spanish team at the Olympics because of drug violations.

Azerbaijan again challenged the decision by the International Hockey Federation on alleged doping by two Spanish players at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. CAS dismissed the first appeal last Saturday.

CAS rejected the new “urgent” request at its special Beijing tribunal, contending the hockey federation did not “abuse its discretion” by failing to appeal the decision by its internal body not to ban the Spaniards.

Spain qualified for the Olympics with a 3-2 victory over Azerbaijan on April 20 but two of its players, Gloria Comerma and unidentified one, tested positive for banned substances after the match.

The hockey federation ruled Comerma committed a violation, but did not impose discipline because there was “no fault or negligence on her part.” The federation’s judicial commission said the second player did not commit a doping violation.

The sport’s rules state that a country must be disqualified from a tournament if more than one team member tests positive.

The Spanish team claims that the positive tests are sabotage attempts at the qualifying games which took place in Azerbaijan’s turf. The Spanish team cries foul play and China Daily reports why:

The Spanish hockey authorities have said there is evidence that the positives were part of a deliberate attempt to sabotage the team’s chances during the Olympic qualifying tournament.

Players and coaching staff complained about the organisation of the event on their return from Azerbaijan.

They said four members of the team had collapsed in the hotel prior to their match against Kenya having inhaled gas that had escaped from the air conditioning system.

They also complained that players were unable to sleep after being bombarded by telephone calls in their hotel rooms. Others felt ill after drinking water given to them by organisers during matches.

“We believe the positives were for a powerful stimulant, an amphetamine or something like that,” Spanish Hockey Federation (RFEH) president Marti Colomer told sports daily AS last month. “We are absolutely positive that the two girls had nothing to do with this. I would bet my life on it.”

CAS is an international arbitration body created in 1984 to settle disputes related to sports. Its main headquarters are located at Lausanne in Switzerland with additional courts in New York City and Sydney. Ad-hoc courts are set up in Olympics host cities as required.

Tags: Azerbaijan, Court of Arbitration for Sport, foul play, International Hockey Federation, olympics, Spain, steroids, women’s hockey team

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

Cyndi Lauper is so 1980’s but we can’t help but use one of her songs here. She used to wail “Money, money, changes everything,” and Gary Hall Jr seems to be in total agreement with Lauper’s point of view. He says it is money that’s making fervid ripples in his sport today.

Hall is the unofficial yet outspoken advocate of swimming nowadays. If you asked us, we think he deserves that unsanctioned status since this guy has won tons of medals in three Olympics to date. No one can stop this guy anyway once he starts talking. We believe he never catches his breath (the man can breathe underwater, for crying out loud!) and we don’t have a choice but to listen.

So we listen and he’s announcing it’s not the Speedo’s new LZR Racer swimsuit that let his co-athletes break 42 world records since only February this year. He stops short of saying that if we believed that crap about rocket-technology and drag-resistant innovation then we’re a bunch of nincompoops.

Steroids, not swimsuits, are what making swimmers swim faster. Hall has this to say on Yahoo! Sports:

“Clearly we know now it wasn’t the suit that was causing all these world records to be broken (in 1976). It was copious amounts of steroids,” Hall said at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in July. “Can the suit technology distract from another issue? I think it’s pretty convenient for those indulging in another issue.”

“Another issue” is actually Hall’s euphemism for use of steroids and other performance boosters in swimming. And that “another issue” is brought about by money since the sport has now gained popularity in many countries, including in the United States. And popularity begets money; a welcome fortune that can come from many sources that many athletes are willing to take short cuts.

“I have mixed feelings about (the prosperity),” Hall said. “Back when I was making $1,200 a month as a ‘professional’ swimmer – and that was it – I always argued that more money should come into the sport and always was an advocate of professionalizing the sport. Now that I see this happening – in foreign countries and even here in the United States – an athlete has the opportunity to make millions and millions of dollars, (and) the incentive to cut corners I think is much greater. Money has presented a new problem.

“Doping in the sport could potentially make us yearn for those good old days where $1,200 a month was the plight of the swimmer – and not the decision to have to take performance-enhancing drugs to compete with some of the world’s best.”

Not many, however, share Hall’s very vocal approach on the problem. Other key players in the sport tend to swim away from the issue of doping in the sport. Famed coach Bob Bowman, for one, always gives an evasive reply when asked about doping in swimming.

“I really respect Gary and everything he’s done,” Bowman said, taking a break from the U.S. Olympic swim team’s practices at Stanford University in July. “He has a right to voice his opinion. I’m glad he speaks out if he feels he needs to.”

And with that, Bowman flashed a sly smile, pleased with his generic, vacuum-packed answer.

Bowman’s dance around the doping issue isn’t unusual. Unless it is ranting about the East German programs of the 1970s and 1980s, or sniping about the sudden success of some Chinese swimmers in the 1990s, banned substances are rarely a topic at the forefront of U.S. swimming. Instead, the sport has spent much of this decade celebrating its coming of age in both training and technology, not to mention hailing the arrival of Phelps – an almost messianic figure who will likely become in Bejing the most decorated athlete in the history of all Olympians.

Bowman can dance around the issue as long as he wants but he’s got to admit that the use of performance-enhancing drugs in diverse sport arenas is bleeding over at the once squeaky-clean sport of swimming. Take the recent case of Jessica Hardy.

From NBC:

U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy has tested positive for a banned stimulant and expedited arbitration proceedings aimed at resolving whether she will remain eligible for the 2008 Olympics have been launched.

Hardy, 21, of Los Angeles, tested positive at the U.S. Olympic Trials for the banned stimulant clenbuterol, her attorney, Howard Jacobs, confirmed late Wednesday.
“Jessica denies that she has taken any prohibited substances,” he said. “We’re looking into explanations for the positive [tests].”

Jacobs, one of the nation’s leading defense lawyers for athletes accused in doping-related matters, said Hardy was tested three times at the Trials, which concluded July 6 in Omaha, Neb.

The first test — on July 1 — came back negative, he said.
The second in the series — on July 4 — registered the positive test, both the A and B samples, he said.

The third — on July 6 — was negative.

And Hardy is definitely not the lone transgressor. The Yahoo! Sports article enumerates some doping incidents:

In November, Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao tested positive for testosterone and was given a two-year ban from the sport. In May, top Chinese backstroker Ouyang Kunpeng tested positive for the same drug as Hardy. The result was a lifetime ban handed down from the Chinese program for Kunpeng and his coach. And finally, three days before Hardy’s positive in late July, the Israeli Olympic program removed swimmer Max Jaben after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone.

While none of these swimmers were considered superstars in the sport, their doping issues did little to douse Hall’s contention that drugs likely are a more prominent issue in swimming than most will admit. And even before Hardy tested positive, the U.S. hadn’t escaped at least some suspicion this decade.

In the fall of 2003, six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken was identified as a client of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), which triggered the most massive doping investigation in sports history – the same BALCO lab that supplied shamed track star Marion Jones with steroids and other drugs.

Beyond Van Dyken, swimmer Dara Torres was dogged by doping rumors in her last Olympic foray in 2000. Those rumors were part of the reason she signed up for an aggressive USADA pilot program formerly called “Project Believe.” The 41-year-old Torres said she hopes to have an “open book” policy when it comes to her drug testing at the Beijing Games, and she expects to be aggressively picked over by WADA drug scientists this month.

But perhaps no group of swimmers can better illustrate how prevalent the use of banned compounds is in swimming than those hailing from China, the host country of 2008 Summer Olympics.

From CNNIS.com:

The 1990s were a decade of shame and glory for Chinese swimming, with world-beating performances overshadowed by the worst doping record in the world.

Thirty-two Chinese swimmers were caught for drug offenses in the 1990s, two of them twice, and another three were disqualified from a domestic competition for having excessive red blood cell counts, according to “Swimming’s Hall of Shame,” a history of doping offenses by Brent Rushall, a sports scientist at San Diego State.

The Yahoo! Sports article accurately sums it all up.

In the end, the cycle typically comes down to money.

In simplistic terms, the more an Olympic sport rises in acclaim, the more money flows into its coffers, and the richer the endorsements become for its athletes. The more highly compensated the athletes become, the more incentive there is to gain a competitive edge. And for the unscrupulous athlete, the need for that edge can create a financial opportunity for the doping expert.

“What other sports have shown is that the more money you put into a sport, the more somebody might have to lose, and the more someone might start swimming for money,” U.S. backstroker Aaron Peirsol said.

It has become undeniable that the financial rewards in the sport have matured a great deal over the last four years. In fact, for its individual athletes, swimming hasn’t seen a more lucrative four-year period than the one between the 2004 Games in Athens and those coming up in Beijing.

Tags: Amy Van Dyken, boldenone, Chinese swimmers, Dara Torres, doping, Gary Hall Jr., Jessica Hardy, Max Jaben, money, olympics, Ouyang Kunpeng, Rebeca Gusmao, steroids, swimming

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

The disqualification of the United States 1,600-meter relay team comes four years after the team’s victory at that Olympic event in Sydney. The International Olympic Committee officially issued the disqualification on Saturday after Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the said team, publicly admitted steroids and PEDs.

The entire team is required to give back its gold medals to the United State Olympic Committee which will be turned over to the IOC offices in Switzerland.

The New York Times reports:

The International Olympic Committee officially disqualified on Saturday sprinter Antonio Pettigrew and his entire United States 1,600-meter relay team from the 2000 Sydney Games because Pettigrew admitted using performance-enhancing drugs at those Olympics.

Pettigrew, who never failed a drug test, admitted in May to using the blood booster EPO and human growth hormone before, during and after the 2000 Olympics. He returned his medal in June.

His teammates — Michael Johnson, Angelo Taylor, Jerome Young and the twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison — will also lose their medals. Johnson, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in individual events, voluntarily gave up his relay gold medal in July.

“We fully support the action taken today by the I.O.C.,” Darryl Seibel, spokesman for the U.S.O.C, said. “Athletes must understand that if they make the choice to cheat, there will be consequences and those consequences can be severe.”

At a news conference on Saturday, Giselle Davies, spokeswoman for the I.OC., said the board would wait on that decision, so they could see if any more information comes out of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids case.

Some of Pettigrew’s teammates have already been swept up in doping scandals of their own.

Alvin and Calvin Harrison have both served suspensions from the sport for violating doping rules. Young was barred for life.

Antonio Pettigrew’s admission took place when he was subpoenaed to testify in the trial of his former coach Trevor Graham in May this year. Graham was subsequently found guilty of lying to federal investigators during their investigation stemming from the BALCO Affair.

In his testimony, Pettigrew admitted that he had used steroids and PEDs as far back as 1997.

His statements surprised many, including his co-winner Michael Johnson, since he was never tested positive for any banned compound.

Johnson had given up his gold medal right after Pettigrew’s testimony. He said he felt ‘betrayed’ with Pettigrew’s admission.

Pettigrew has been retired from the track since 2002.

Tags: Antonio Pettigrew, disqualification, International Olympic Committee, Michael Johnson, olympics, PEDs, relay team, steroids

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

Gary Hall Jr. believes steroids and other performance drugs are responsible for the recent upsurge of swimming world records, and not hi-tech suits as many would claim. Since the introduction of the Speedo LZR Racer this year, swimmers wearing the revolutionary bodysuit have broken numerous world marks.

The three-time Olympian and 10-time Olympic medalist once again voiced out his disappointment with officials of not doing enough to rid the sport off steroids and PEDs.

The 33-year-old Hall met with the press on the first day of the eight-day US Olympic trials on Sunday. He arrived at the trials in a private jet and had publicly spilled out his straightforward views on doping.
“I don’t have any proof but it’s my gut feeling doping exists,” Hall told reporters on the press con. “I need to wait and see what it feels to be shaved and tapered in these new technology suits.

“I am convinced there is an advantage to wearing the suits but I don’t think it accounts for all the time drops we’ve seen.

“Do I think it (doping) is getting worse? Yes, I do.

“It’s here; it’s in the United States.

“I train with an international group of swimmers and all of them have stories and a few of them have had offers and I’m not at liberty to say (any more).

Hall is also frustrated with the existing system and policy on steroid use.

“Unfortunately, we rely on an inadequate doping system — doping agencies — for the proof,” Hall said. “We live in a society where you’re innocent until proven guilty — the key word being ‘proven.’ We don’t have any way of proving people are cheating.”

At the US Olympic trials, athletes will be randomly tested for steroids and other banned substances.

Hall will be looking for his third-straight Olympic 50-meter freestyle gold medal in the Summer Olympics in Beijing this August.

Tags: doping, doping agencies, Gary Hall Jr., olympics, steroids, Summer Olympics in Beijing, swimming

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