by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
In this installment of the 'Roid Report, we will focus on recent startling developments in pro cycling involving the sport's international, intergalactic celebrity Lance Armstrong. As everyone knows, Armstrong will be attempting a comeback from a 3 year absence from the pro cycling world. Armstrong won 7 Tour de France events, which is legendary in the history of the event. Unusual for American cyclists, Armstrong became more than a great cyclist he became the icon 'Lance Armstrong' who beat metastatic testicular cancer. Armstrong survived a toxic course of treatment, and a bone marrow transplant. Armstrong's children were conceived by stored sperm, as Armstrong was likely made sterile by the treatment ordeal.
The fairy tale story of 'man beats cancer' and 'man beats French', and 'man with nice family' seemed to be in place. Armstrong retired from professional cycling as possibly the most honored cyclist in history. He devoted his life to cancer awareness. The stuff of dreams, except for...
Rumors (or better) of Armstrong's doping. Frankly, the cycling peloton during Armstrong's career used tons of performance enhancing drugs, or more appropriate to the European vocabulary, doping. Steroids, blood doping and later EPO, cortisone, amphetamines, HGH, the gamut of PEDs would likely show up in most pro cyclist's blood stream or urine. Even one of the most hallowed cyclists -- Eddie Merckx -- tested positive for doping. How could Armstrong beat the best of the contemporary cyclists, without meeting their pharmacological challenge. The case against Armstrong centers around several pieces of evidence:
Each of these was vigorously contested by Armstrong who is known for mounting a robust legal offense against his accusers including author David Walsh L.A. Confidential ). Armstrong showed little restraint when he spouted off this: "I just hate the guy," he told writer Daniel Coyle in the 2005 book Lance Armstrong's War, adding that Walsh is a "fucking little troll."
Armstrong seemed to fight the French, especially when L'Equipe leaked results of 'dry run' EPO tests on 1999 Tour de France samples which ostensibly showed Armstrong's test showed EPO. The only Armstrong positive on the Tour was a slight sniff of triamcinolone (a cortisol-like drug), which Armstrong claimed he used for saddle sores. The '99 positive for EPO was never official, which leads to serious questions about the legitimacy of the finding; the second postitive was felt to be a 'theraputic use exemption'.
A notable incident occurred when an insurance company disputing Armstrong's claim unearthed evidence of LA's doing. The major accusers included Armstrong's former friends the Andreus -- Frankie and Betsy. The couple claims that Armstrong told his cancer doctors of his steroids, HGH, and blood doping use while in the hospital. This 'episode' brought huge protests from the Armstrong crowd; the lawsuit was eventually settled outside of court.
Many of Armstrong's teammates and opponents have since admitted to or been nailed with doping over the years:
Armstrong retired in 2006 amid all the suspicions, but without out any of the proof of PED use. He parlayed his fame to noble social causes (cancer awareness) and ignoble social publicity -- he divorced his wife, which led to a number of widely publicized trysts involving notable starlets and singers.
Something burned inside Armstrong, burned to return to the competitive scene. He ran in marathons, finishing respectably. He entered local cycling races. He rode cycling tours for cancer awareness. However, in September word leaked out Armstrong was strongly considering coming back from retirement. He later formally announced his un-retirement, aiming for 5 races including the Tour de France. The comeback plans expanded by the second as Armstrong announced more races and more details. The motivation for the comeback -- enumerated at last week's Clinton Global Initiative -- involved a noble attempt to raise global cancer awareness.
The Armstrong luster tarnished a bit as more details emerged on the LA comeback. Although Armstrong appears to have hired the best anti-doping lab scientist in the United State - Dr. Don Catlin of UCLA -- the last non doped man standing -- Greg LeMond -- challenged Armstrong to expand his claim to 'clean cycling' by including power and oxygen usage parameters in addition to the routine anti-doping urine tests. On another front, scientific controversy swirled around the superiority of the Armstrong physiology.
It was also revealed Armstrong's motives are not quite a pure as the snow atop the Alps -- he invested in a Chicago bicycles parts company that he will apparently promote during the upcoming year. It is also felt that SRAM (the elite cycle components firm) directed Armstrong to Astana, a team that was basically banned from the 2008 Tour de France for doping (Armstrong's former US Post later Discovery has been disbanded, sick of the doping charges). Further, eligibilty troubles may emerge as Armstrong expands his comeback plans.
Lance Armstrong reminds of the ambiguous entrepreneur--win-at-all-
The long up and down ride of Lance Armstrong will continue on, perhaps into the next decade(s). And maybe it is as Armstrong says: When asked point-blank whether he was clean when he won all of his Tours, Armstrong told SI: "Absolutely. I won the Tour de France once, twice, seven times, because I was the most talented person in the field."
Monday, September 29, 2008
The 'Roid Report for the week of September 21
Monday, September 15, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 7
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
The hot steroid stories of the past week take us to Beijing, Japan, Brazil, Bulgaria, and several locales in Southern USA.
In Japan sumo wrestling is followed with religious zeal. Thus recent marijuana scandals in sumo rocked the nation. Briefly, several sumo wrestlers in the Japan Sumo Association tested positive for marijuana use, including 2 Russian brothers -- Roho and Hakurozan. Although this may be a mild peccadillo in the United States, in Japan the code of sumo honor brought down the wrestlers and the commissioner of the league -- a venerated former sumo champion. Kitanoumi, the JSA commissioner, resigned in disgrace following the reefer madness. Contrast this honorable action with the behavior of the commission of USA's major league baseball: MLB boss Bud Selig presided shamelessly over the complete domination of performance enhancing drugs on play.
In Beijing the 2008 Paralympic Games continue on, as South African blade runner Oscar Pistorius swept medals in the 100M, 200m, and 4000M. We previously documented doping in a paralympic weight lifter, and a questionable doping call in a German wheelchair basketball player who apparently used a anti-baldness drug. This week, two more paralympic powerlifters tested positive for anabolic steroids. Fancourou Sissoko of Mali and Liudmyla Osmanova of the Ukraine tested positive for doping; Sissoko tested positive for boldenone (Equipoise) and Osmanova tested positive for 19-norandrosterone (metabolite of nandrolone and weak pro-hormone).
Also keeping the juice flowing on the international scene, roided-up Bulgarian Olympic weight lifters will not be throwing around iron in competitions, and Brazil doper Dodo will be extinct from soccer games for a few years too. Carl Lewis dissed Jamaican Usian Bolt's world records as questionable because of the lax Jamaican anti-doping policies.
And those southern nights down in the USA. Interesting stuff going on down there too. At about the same time Jose Canseco's name was about to be removed from a Miami street, dope peddlers in Plano Texas were either dead (David Jacobs) or released (Matt Lehr from the New Orleans Saints). Weird happenings in Texas, were hurricanes were not the only big news. Jacobs killed his body building girlfriend Amanda Savell before shooting himself Ianthe abdomen and head early in the summer. How does a suicide victim pop himself in 2 places? Ask the Plano and Dallas area police who now seem to be clear of possible steroid-using charges as dead men can't testify.
T
he other southern sport, NASCAR, went in circles over the revelation that a driver in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series -- Ron Hornaday Jr. -- used testosterone a few years ago. After relating a number of stories to ESPN, Hornaday settled on a scenario where he ordered testosterone fro himself and HGH for his wife, (or was that for Debbie Clemens) when he suffered from chronic fatigue and weight loss. Hornaday should consider himself lucky his symptoms weren't from prostate cancer where testosterone can increase the tumor growth. It's crazy to think someone can pick up the phone to order serious anabolic hormones from the Internet to treat an unknown medical condition. Later, Hornaday was found to suffer from Graves Disease, a thyroid disorder.
Perhaps it's crazier to see NASCAR ignore the offense, despite misgivings of racing drivers. Would anyone like to race at 200 mph against drivers jacked up on an anabolic steroid or mellowed out on a opioid?
Lastly, joining Lance Armstrong on the cycling comeback trail will be 2006 non Tour de France winner/loser Floyd Landis, also plans a comeback from a 2 year doping suspension. Lance and Floyd, just like old times. We wax nostalgic already.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 31
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
After a brief absence due to family events, The Roid Report returns. We will focus on 3 stories today: Rebeca Gusmao, a swimmer from Brazil, a paralympic weightlifter Naveed Ahmed Butt, and Lance Armstrong who needs no introduction.
Rebeca Gusmao received a lifetime ban from swimming due to chronic steroid abuse. Apparently dedicated to swimming in the Olympic Games (see the Olympic symbol tattoo on her arm) she demonstrates the remarkable (or sick) degree of persistence powering athletes down the road to Olympic fame...Obsession beyond normal dedication in Gusmao's case.
As seen in the early photo (probably taken around 2004) Gusmao was a normal to slender athlete with a moderate amount of success. Compare those photos to recent 2007 photos where the swimmer looks like the Incredible Hulk. Gusmao's shoulders look like slabs of muscle, her buttocks huge globes of power, and her face thick and features coarse. Although caught with anabolic androgenic steroids twice, a fan wonders about the use of HGH. Whatever, the transformation was remarkable.
Gusmao tested positive for testosterone before the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. She won two gold medals at the Pan American Games and was later stripped of the medals. The circumstances of the positive dope test even were suspicious: a physician appears to have been corrupted along the way, allegedly slipping in fake urine along the way
In July 2008, Gusmao received a second two-year doping suspension after a positive test for testosterone at a 2006 competition — a decision delayed by problems with the tests. This second positive test for the male hormone sealed her fate: the woman obsessed with Olympic fame now must live with doping shame.
Gusmao argued that she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition where women excrete an excess of testosterone. The condition induces changes such as acne, menstrual irregularities, increased hair, and an enhancement of muscles -- although 50% of the women become obese. However, the extent of Gusmao's muscle development takes the effects of testosterone to a pharmacological level....doping. The medical excuse appears often in many drug-cheats nefarious excuses, as if we will all buy ridiculous arguments for high steroid levels.
The extent to which the Brazilian swimmer desecrated herself in pursuit of swimming in the Olympic Games should induce some thought about what these obsessed athletes will do to win...ruin their physical appearance and mutilate their bodies to succeed. The money and the fame of the Olympics now motivates drug cheats like Gusmao, like Olympic champ Marion Jones (just out of federal prison), and like many world champion athletes to become drug cheats. Apparently the 'sacrifice' is worth the tragic outcomes.
On to the Paralympic games in Beijing for physically disabled athletes like Oscar Pistorius who came within inches of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics, despite double leg amputations. Pakistan weightlifter Naveed Ahmed Butt tested positive for doping even in the Paralympics. Athletes who in a sense were cheated by nature, but courageously train to compete in high level athletic endeavors, fall victim to drug cheats too. Is nothing scared anymore?
And lastly, the multiple-winner of the Tour de France, and worldwide celebrity, Lance Armstrong appears to be arousing from retirement to ride again in 5 races in 2009, including the Tour. Volumes of arguments discussing Armstrong's possible doping oi win in a steroid and EPO soaked sports continue to spew out of cycling enthusiasts even today before the Armstrong comeback was announced. Armstrong's experience is not uncommon in modern sports: bitter controversy whenever an athlete performs in a remarkable competitive feat. This issue - that scientific advancements in drugs and training and equipment have far outstripped the ethical issues over these technological achievements to expand human performance. Soon science will be able to alter the basis of biology -- DNA and genes -- for medicine and for physical performance. Hopefully before that time, sport will come to grips with the ethics of performance enhancement before compete biological chaos envelops the Olympics, the Tour de France, the MLB and the NFL.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 27, Part 2: Non-Olympic Juice
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
Oh yes, there are other sports continuing in the world outside of Beijing. If there is sport, there is juice.
Former Michigan football player Rondell Biggs will stand charges of possessing Winstrol tablets. Biggs claimed to be coaching the Wolverines at the time, although no explanation why Michigan football sucked last year.
Nasty reports came from Plano Texas, where NFL steroids dealer David Jacobs's autopsy reported indicated Jacobs showed tons of testosterone in his blood at the time of his death. He shot his fitness model girlfriend Amanda Earhart-Savell once in the back, five times in the chest, and once in the back of the head before turning the gun on himself twice (chest and head). Savell tested for amphetamine in her bloodstream, attributed to dieting for a contest. Love the world of bodybuilding, huh? Drugs, sex, and suicide-murder. Jacobs was linked to NFL lineman Matt Lehr and linebacker Ryan Fowler, connections often forgotten. Lehr was also romantically involved with the slain fitness model.
To round out the Non-Olympic news, a few minor league baseball players tested positive for 'roids, and UFC fighter James Irvin loaded up on narcotics, not nandrolone.
Also note Bulgarian tennis player Sesil Karatantcheva comes back after a steroid suspension. Check out that tat.
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 27, Part 1: Olympic Juicers
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
Hello from the steroid capital of the world, Branson, MO. Anti-inflammatory steroids that is, not the anabolic type. It's the Tour de Milk of Magnesia here, not the Tour de France. In this Olympic 'Roid Report we review of the past several weeks of Olympic juice, making Beijing the real 'roid capital of the world -- for several weeks this year.
Forget baseball, football, and pro-wrestling. The hot juice action now occurs Beijing. There have been more suspensions prior to the 2008 Olympics than cables holding up the the Brooklyn Bridge.
One wire service estimated over 40 athletes have now been suspended due to doping prior to the Olympics. At Steroid Nation we continue to count bodies (so to speak) but we can say that are far more athletes suspended for illicit drug use than that.
A major development occurred when the 'face' of the Olympics in Europe, Russian middle distance world record holder Yelena Soboleva went down to suspected urine conspiracy. Many other talented Russian female track stars were reported to be part of the systematic gaming of the urine dope tests....world class track stars, cyclists, and . The World Anti-Doping Agency agency is reportedly really pissed off about the Russian shenanigans. Wonder if the Russian female athletes used the Whizzinator?
The corruption has reached to bribery: A Hungarian Olympian stands accused of attempted bribery to pass a urine dope test.
The American swimmer Jessica Hardy took clenbuterol, an illegal beta-adrenergic drug, as opposed to the legal beta-adrenergic drug Dara Torres takes for asthma. The difference is in the paperwork. Clen promotes muscle growth, reduces fat, and opens the airways, thus contributing to those butterfly wins. However, the US doping authorities botched paperwork on Hardy so that swimmer Tara Kirk was unable to fill the vacant Olympic slot.
We mentioned world record holder Yelena Soboleva as a juiced jock; there are several other world champions, and former Olympians who will be on the dull end of the needle sitting at home this Olympiad: Russian race walkers (including world record holder Vladimir Kanaikin), a steeplechaser & cyclist, an Italian cyclists & fencer, and many American track stars, tons of Greeks (here and here), a Danish cyclist, and the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team will be watching the 2008 Olympics because of doping violations. Those juicers are just the tip of the needle.
However we all have consolation because President George Bush signed an new international anti-doping agreement before he flew off to join in the Beijing Olympic Opening ceremonies. Does he know about the steroids in Gay Lube Oil?
Monday, July 28, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 20
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
The Tour de France once again finished peddling: peddling through several weeks of impossible bicycle racing, as well several weeks of questionable public relations spew. The Associated Press trumpets drug-cheating problems (Sastre wins doping-scarred Tour de France), meanwhile Tour director Christian Prudhomme announces victory over dopers (Race director hails 2008 Tour de France as victory over doping cheats). Only a dope would buy those headlines completely. Does anyone recall, one day later, that Spain's Carlos Sastre won a very existential race amid the various -- but limited -- doping scandals?
The underlying technological development at the heart of 2008's Tour doping involved a new form of EPO, called a CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator). EPO (or erythropoetin) is a naturally produced hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells (RBCs). In medicine this hormone/drug may be used for patients with anemia due to AIDS, or cancer, or kidney failure (EPO is natrually synthesized in the kidneys) increasing the RBCs in a person who is not producing adequate red blood cells due to the disease state. In 'blood doping' the increased number of RBCs enhances the blood oxygen carrying capacity in an athlete, thus giving the blood doper an advantage in receiving more oxygen to stressed tissues. Track and cycling athletes for years have been appropriating illicit EPO to cheat in races (ala Marion Jones).
Roche Labs manufactured a new type of EPO called CERA, which is not ejected from the body by kidney elimination as quickly as the older variant of EPO. Apparently a few cyclists in the Tour thought that dope testers would not pick up the latest drug development. Wrong. Although initial reports indicated the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) teamed with Roche to produce a stealth molecule allowing discovery of the new EPO, that was a mistaken piece of news; Apparently WADA knew about the new CERA version of EPO, and thus was ready to test for the larger molecule.
Tour officials also modified the concept of a 'biological passport' -- a health parameter database on athletes that gives a fingerprint of their physiology over time. The Tour tested for irregularities in certain blood measures to tip them off to drug-cheaters. This procedure allegedly tipped off doping control to several Tour dopers.
The biggest name caught doping at the Tour was Riccardo Ricco the rising Italian cycling star. Ricco tested positive for the new EPO; word was that Ricco ran from the testers in a desperate attempt to avoid taint. Also caught on Youtube fleeing from testing control was Spaniard Carlos Beltran, who rode for Liquigas, the Cannondale bike squad. Moises Duenas Nevado, from Spain, who rode for Barloworld ( a large Euro corporation), dropped an EPO tainted urine. Leonardo Piepoli, -- also on the Saunier Duval-Scott team with Ricco -- didn't test positive however something in his possession motivated the cyclist to be escorted out of the race, and we suspect it wasn't something good. Finally, on the last day Kazakhstan's Dmitri Fofonov fluffed-up, testing positive for a European stimulant. Borat not be proud.
After Ricco's and Piepoli left the Tour in disgrace Ricco's team, Saunier-Duval, packed up the doping bags and left the race possibly never to return. To add to the fun and games Ricco, Beltran and the others spent time in a French lockup, as doping is a criminal offense in the European country. Five, 5 cyclists, busted for doping...Yahtzee!
Tour teams continued to be suspect of doping. Luiqigas signed doper Ivan Basso on, which tainted the team's credibility from the start. Eventual winning team CSC is headed by Bjarne Riis -- winner of the 1996 Tour, and esteemed chronic doper...birds of a feather. Would the Boston Red Sox hire Barry Bonds to manage their team?
The Tour de France is now a troubled doping event, reflecting a troubled professional sport. Huge doping scandals plague the Tour de France: Festina in 1998, Operation Puerto in 2006. Floyd Landis in 2006-2008. The Tour leader sacked in 2007 (see Tour dopers on trial). Where is George Mitchell when cycling needs him? Who can clean up this tainted corrupt sport? Even the physicians involved with cyclists -- like Dr. Jesus Losa -- appear to be tainted. Overall, the 2008 Tour appeared to dial down the doping; now, where does this event cycle to in the future?
Monday, July 14, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 6
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
As American slides into the baseball summer All-Star break, and the Olympic Games slide into the quiet before the Beijing storm, steroid doping enthusiasts(?) focused on the Olympic athletes and the Tour de France riders.
The 2008 Tour -- after huge busts in 2006 (Floyd Landis) and 2007 (Alexandre Vinokourov, and Michael Rasmussen) -- was determined to monitor doping. Almost any drug known to man appeared at some point in the history of the tour. EPO and blood doping, anabolic steroids (Landis), amphetamines, and anti-inflammatory injections, appear to be the most frequently abused drugs during the long ride. Tour authorities thought this year's race might be different. Surprise!
By Day 5, Tour officials announced suspicious signs of doping, followed by news that Manuel Beltran tested positive for EPO, a hormone that promotes production of red blood cells thus increasing oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. The alleged doping may have been nailed by serial blood tests of normal physiological measures. Another major cyclist, Riccardo Ricco was dodging rumors of abnormal blood measures at the end of the week too. Meanwhile, the French announced that last year's dopers -- Alexandre Vinokourov, Iban Mayo and Italian Cristian Moreni -- may be subject of criminal charges in France.
Interesting that Beltran teamed with US cycling and cultural icon Lance Armstrong. Other Armstrong cycling buddies implicated in doping include: Floyd Landis (testosterone), Alberto Contador (Operation Puerto), Tyler Hamilton (blood doping), and Freddie Andreu (blood doping), Birds of a feather?
With the Olympics pending, observers recounted past dopers, and defined current possibilities. Just who should be considered the world's fastest female sprinter? Flo-Jo (Florence Griffith-Joyner) who holds the historic world record, an unassailable 10.49; Marion Jones, second at 10.65; or Frances Christine Arron at 10.73? A conversation with Arron -- who will run at Beijing in 2008 -- reveals she considers her effort tops, dismissing the other 2 female sprinters for doping. She offers particularly harsh words for Jones:"She has lied for years," Arron said. "She treated everyone as idiots. I'm not choked she is going to jail. Many people criticised me because I was always the one who lost in the Jones-Arron battle, even if I had very good results. We started running together in 1997. She has stolen my best years. Everything could have been different for me."
Although other Olympic hopefuls were caught juicing, particular scrutiny continues on 41 year-old Dara Torres who has never urinated a positive doping test. Opinions on Torres alternate between hero worship as the mother of one takes on the young athletic does ("bucks" didn't work here) beating them in the water, or abhorrence of her ripped muscular physical appearance combined with gravity-defying personal best times in the 5th decade of life which could only be (the argument goes) masterminded with artificial hormonal aid.
At Steroid Nation, we tepidly entered the debate until San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gwen Knapp said Torres was suffering a double standard: men get away with juicing, and women don't. Did she mean Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mark McGwire are all now home free for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame? Did she mean the press was all over Marion Jones from the beginning (took 8 years and multiple denials before she admitted to doping) and Tammy Thomas immediately (took about 4-5 years before she was convicted of lying about steroid use)?
Indeed Torres, now engineering her 3rd comeback (yes her third) swims faster in sprints than she did while a collegiate star at Florida State during WW2, and in the '84, '88, '92, '00 Olympics. In Sydney. she impressively hurdled doping questions about her 2000 Olympic appearance. One would think 8 years, one baby, several surgeries, and a long layoff would bring even more juicing heat on her during the 2008 games in Beijing. However Dara daresya to find a dirty urine in her multi-epoch career. It's going to be All-Dara-All-the-Time for the next month (along with the All-Brett-All-Favre-All-the-
In other juiced Olympic news, the Greeks destroyed their livers with
Meanwhile back in the boring US of A, the only doping action in the major sports consisted of opinions about megajuicer Jason Giambi's mustache. At least Giambi didn't use the Butt Wedge or the Urinator to grow his mustache...or did he?
Monday, July 7, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 29
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
July, the gateway to August and the 2008 Olympics. July, the Tour de France. July, when the weightlifters all bail from competition.
Beginning last week and striding (or stroking) into the early days of July, US athletes competed for berths on the 2008 Olympics team and airfare to Beijing China. Olympic athletes also face more stringent dope testing preparing for the Olympics than in previous years.
In the USA camp, drug-cheat and ex-gold medal winner Justin Gatlin, did not run in the '08 Olympic trials. Gatlin or no Gatlin, the USA showed speed to burn: Tyson Gay fired up the 100M in an wind-aided 8.68. However Gay pulled a hamstring in the 200, falling hard o the fast new track in Eugene OR.
Several once-juiced athletes qualified for the US track team: Torri Edwards a female sprinter, and Demu Cherry in women's 100M hurdles. Both served suspensions in past years for doping: Edwards a stimulant, and Cherry a nandrolone metabolite. None disgraced themselves as much as former world record holder Tim Montgomery who plead guilty to heroin charges last week.
US gymnast Morgan Hamm failed to inform the USOC of his therapeutic use of an anti-inflammatory steroid for hip pain; this did not sooth US Olympics officials who need both Hamm and his twin brother to compete at Beijing.
The big news over in Omaha, when US swimmers competed for Olympics slots included an incredible performance by superman Michael Phelps, and superwoman Dara Torres. Torres (photo to the left) a 41 year-old mother defied gravity, swimming faster that she did 20 years ago to qualify for her 5th Olympiad. Cynics howled at the moon attempting to identify if she doped. This appears to be futile exercise: she never tested positive for the juice even when questions arose in 2000. Torres attributes her amazing physique to stretching, and not weight machines (? lifting). Torres feel so righteous she volunteered to offer every body fluid and a couple abdominal organs for dope testing. Fava beans anyone?
The dope testers worked overtime abroad. Bulgaria lost an entire weightlifting team to juice. The Chinese cracked down on several athletes. Lord Coe in the UK looks dimly on sprinter Dwain Chambers -- a BALCO player -- attempt to override the lifetime ban Britain slapped on the track star. Euro indoor champ, Slovak shot putter Mikulas Konopka, appears to be banned for doping, serving life plus 3.
The biggest loss occurred when Turkish gold medalist 4ft-11inch Halil withdraw from the upcoming Beijing Olympics, thus spoiling his opportunity for a 3-peat in weight lifting. Mutlu (photo to the right) said he was coming up short on training lifts. Mutlu cast a long shadow on his achievements when he was nailed with a steroid suspension.
The 2008 Tour de France rolled out a less than star-studded stable of cyclists, cut down by the pervasive doping offenses the past several years in pro cycling. While Floyd Landis considered appealing his recent loss of the 2006 Tour to the man in the moon, Alejandro Valverde took Day One. Valverde's lead, implicated in the huge Operation Puerto doping scheme in Europe, suggests connoisseurs of the doping scandal may yet be served in the '08 Tour. Then again, even the EPO test employed to catch blood doping cheats, draws lab validity questions. (and here)
Oh yes, and the PGA began steroid testing; John Daly they are looking at you, dude.
Almost a quiet week in baseball. Ex-trainer Brian McNamee asked the court to dismiss Roger Clemens's defecation suit (anyone catch that?) against him. Mega-juicer Jason Giambi is making a case to be on the 2008 All-Star team, as Mitchell-report add-on Todd Williams would just like to make an MLB team.
Several weeks of the Tour de France and several weeks until the Beijing Olympics. Wonder what steroid surprises lie ahead?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 22
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
"Terry Bradshaw". Just the name itself demands respect and awe from...well from someone out there, probably in McKeesport PA. The week kicked off with the word spreading that the legendary Steeler QB admitted to using steroids. However, knowing the impulsive Bradshaw, questions remained whether the current football commentator meant anabolic steroids, or anti-inflammatory corticosteroid or simply an aspirin or two. As we go to press, Bradshaw clarified the entire thing: maybe it was the anti-inflammatory kinds of steroids he said. Or maybe as Hollywood Henderson said "He can't spell cat, even if you spotted him the C-A". At least Bradshaw is still alive, which is more than can be said for many of his juiced Steeler teammates.
From off-track to on-track. The US Olympic trials continue in Oregon this week. The new track must be incredibly fast, because the times run there fall into the "simply amazing" category....or the 'simply juiced' category. As one writer asks: 'Can we enjoy track anymore', with the long shadow of steroid-use hanging over every race, and every record.
Tyson Gay ran an incredible 9.68, although wind-aided. A high school kid zoomed to a 10.01, the fastest high school sprint in the US track history; Jeffrey Damps will run back punts at Florida next fall. Women loved the track with 100M times in the 10.8 range. The women's 100M winner, Muna Lee, never broke 11.00 before her win in Oregon at 10.85. Mark Zeigler summed things up about the roid cloud: "Whether it is the Beynon Surfaces track or a sizzling generation of American sprinters or the gentle tailwinds or illicit doping rearing its head once again, the performances at steamy Hayward Field yesterday were nothing short of stunning." Track controversy in all race venues continued, even in the marathon -- Hawaii Marathon winner Ambese Tolossa found himself suspended for morphine.
One runner who will not be stunning in Oregon will be Justin Gatlin -- former world record holder and drug-cheat -- although not for lack of legal effort. Gatlin obtained a restarting order 10 days ago, apparently allowing him to defy international regulatory agencies banning the sprinter from competition. However the Pensacola judge reversed himself over the weekend. Nonetheless, Gatlin was back in court, this time in Georgia; that effort to subvert the anti-doping agencies ran aground too. Looks like Gatlin will be grounded this week outside the Olympic trials.
On the testing front, a new report on the EPO urine test cast doubt on the ability of anti-doping agencies to pick up EPO cheats. The drug, that expands the red blood cell count, was not detected very well by anti-doping labs. This is an unfortunate development with the Olympics only weeks away and the Tour de France days away, and knowing that drug-cheats like Marion Jones once used EPO to perform better. A huge drug bust in Australia led authorities to wonder if a big conspiracy was brewing to enable athletes to dope fro the Beijing Olympics this year too.
Intrigue surrounded horse racing again this week. Big Brown's trainer Rick Dutrow not only insulted other trainers, his horse was nailed with a high level of clenbuterol. This guys must be trying his best to displace Roger Clemens from the seat of 'silly steroid infamy' this year. One of Dutrow's enemy's found his horse with a high level of Clen too...possible sabotage?
Great one-off stories this week. Horse-steroid using bodybuilder Julie Coram (photo to the left) in Manitoba hired a New York lawyer to bail her out of the hot juice of a positive steroid test. Gold medal winning swimmer Gary Hall vented about 'roid use in Olympic swimming. The women running the 100M at the Oregon Olympics had traps like linebackers -- hey it's all good (Torri Edwards photo to the right).
New Flash: this just in, the results for the 2006 Tour de France. Floyd Landis lost..again. Everyone can quit holding their collective breathes (for about 2 years now). Later...
Monday, June 23, 2008
THE 'ROID REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 15
by Gary Gaffney, MD, Steroid Nation
Here is something to get you up and going this week: Viagra as a performance enhancing drug, on the athletic field, not in the bedroom. Experts in athletic doping like Don Catlin suspected that sildenafil (Viagra) could be used to enhance physciological aspects of athletic performance; the drug increases blood flow to various organs and muscles. Word came out that multi-drug cheat Roger Clemens took Viagra when he took the mound -- pitching mound. Several media outlets now report on viva Viagra, which would not be illegal in sporting events at this point.
Sadly, PED or Viagra use may have led to the demise of a bright NFL prospect -- Heath Benedict. Benedict played college football for a small D-2 South Carolina school, however impressed NFL scouts as a top lineman for the 2008 draft. Benedict died at home in March. Autopsy revealed an enlarged heart, and drugs were found near his body. Two vials -- Viagra and Arimidex (anti-estrogen) and an unknown syringe lay beside him. Speculation centers on the role of toxic PEDs in the athlete's death.
An athlete might take an illegal drug, yet still be able to compete at the Olympic trials. That's what sprinter Justin Gatlin wants to see happen. Following a positive urine test for testosterone in 2006, Gatlin received 4 to 8 years suspension, depending on what agency ruled against him. Earlier in his career Gatlin tested positive for amphetamine, which he said he took for ADHD; however he served a one year suspension nonetheless. When he tested positive for the androgenic drug at the Kansas race, US agencies ruled the sprinter needed to sit out competition for 8 years. The Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled that Gatlin, once the 100M world record holder, should sit for 4 years -- 2006 to 2010. However a judge in Gatlin's home town of Pensacola, Fl issued a restraining order (against whom?) purportedly to allow Gatlin to run in the 2008 Olympics trials now starting in Oregon. More to come on this story -- which is to be expected when legal systems start clashing jurisdictions.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) long ago ruled Human Growth Hormone (HGH) illegal in Olympic type athletic events. That ruling never stopped drug-cheats like Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery from using HGH to cheat competitors. However, new developments continue in the use or misuse of HGH in sports. Researchers look for new biological dog tracks to catch drug-cheats. WADA says new HGH testing may be ready for the Beijing Olympics later this summer. And some even doubt HGH enhances performance.
Veterinarian medicine and drug cheating appeared bust last week. Horsemen appeared on Capitol Hill to testify about the doping of race horses. However, the main protagonist of the horse racing spring -- Rick Dutrow -- pulled up lame before the event. Nonetheless horse jockeys and horseman came out with a statement against steroid doping of horses. In a weird related event, two horsemen long known for their anti-steroid stance feel a colt of theirs was a victim of sabotage when the animal tested positive for clenbuterol, which neither endorses or uses for horses. The trainer -- Larry Jones -- trained Eight Belles the filly who died on the track after the Kentucky Derby.
The other event related to vet medicine occurred in Canada where Julie Coram -- a figure competitor -- tested positive for Equipose -- a horse steroid, boldenone -- along with other androgenic metabolites during an event (photo above). No reactions from jockeys on this horseplay.
Other women in the PED world news this week include several Olympic competitors who will be suspended for the Beijing Olympic Games (and here), and inter
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