THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 25

by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation

Track and field grabbed the 'roid spotlight in May, when the Trevor Graham BALCO-steroids trial settled into center stage in San Francisco. Almost as if on cue, the world 100M mark fell to a relative novice in New York, when the month ended, thus generating the question: "are any modern track marks free of doping and 'roiding taint?"

Trevor Graham -- coach of Marion Jones, and disgraced world record holders Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin -- fell to one charge of lying to investigators as two other charges went deadlocked last week in the BALCO courtroom scene. Graham lied about his involvement in supplying performance enhancing drugs to athletes he coached at Sprint Capital USA during the past decade. Many track athletes revealed doping proclivities during the two week trial, either by their own admission, or by the testimony of dope dealer Angel Heredia.

Stars of the Graham trail included IRS/FDA agent Jeff Novitzky, also lead investigator on every Barry Bonds probe. Dope dealer Angel Heredia revealed that Graham planned on Jones taking undetectable PEDs like EPO, HGH, and insulin. Olympic gold medal holder, and UNC track assistant coach, Antonio Pettigrew admitted to drug use prior to his 2000 '400 by 4' relay race in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That brings to three the number of members of that team proven to be dopers, leaving only world record holder Michael Johnson clean (Even Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is a doper).

We also heard how ex-world record holder/juicer Justin Gatlin worked underground for the FBI, when his dirty urine for testosterone obliterated his world 100M mark. Gatlin appeared to be trying to recover some of the grace in the eyes of IAAF officials by cooperating with federal investigators.

Graham's legal woes demonstrated for all the world to see the corruption behind the USA track machine. This pus oozing out of the illicit doping leads to suspicions about all US track athletes, the esteemed Michael Johnson too.

You snooze (don't dope) you lose -- like Duane Ross. Ross didn't go for the Trevor Graham blueprinted (patent applied for) plan of EPO, HGH, and insulin (slin).

May closed as Jamaican Usian Bolt sped to a new world records of 9.72, defeating challenger Tyson Gay's best, and breaking Asafa Powell's world mark. The Jamaican prodigy has now recorded 2 of the world's best three times, in only five tries at the 100M in organized competition. Bolt's timely record set off a maelstrom of controversy about the record, and the role of doping. Discredited, disgraced Ben Johnson -- he of 1976-Seoul-Gold-Medal-Dope-Disqualification-Winny fame -- claimed all track records of the past few decades were tainted -- except his own purged mark, which was sabotaged by Carl Lewis's anabolic chicanery.

Does all that sprinting warp a man's thoughts? Back with more dope for you later this week...