More anabolic athletics

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Very interesting article by Charlie Francis and I would like a reaction from him…let me first state that the issue of doping is just one of cheating the rules, nothing more, the same as throwing a lighter implement, bribing official or running a 100m on a motorbike. It is obvious that nobody who has any financial interest in sports really wants to see the end of drug use in elite sports and hypocrisy is the rule within the international and national sports government bodies (qualification standards are raised, athletes are asked to peak for months at a time by federations and other nonsense). Authorities claim lack of funds and scientific competencies but when some hackers break into the pentagon’s computer system, the governement finds them and gives them jobs so they benefit from their knowledge. why not do the same with drug usage? Money should not be an issue. Limousines, suites in five star hotels and first class air travel for IOC officials ARE EXPENSIVE! not investing in proper drug testing research. The drug problem is mainly political.

That said, is there any way clean athletes can still win? I dare to hope that in technical events such as the lighter throws and the jumps, "clean" athletes can reach the top. The saddest of it all is that clean athletes cannot even escape the suspicion of doping. I have the privilege to be involved with the training of a young athlete who recently made the world top 15 (100% clean ) and all the reaction we get is "What does she take?", it is very offending to her and just plain annoying to me...Everybody's perception is altered. It is funny to note that everyone thinks the others are doing it more than them. I lived quite a few years in North America were steroids are called "European vitamins", well, back in Europe, everyone asked if I came back from the US with a bag full of pills! and the belief is that athletes go to the US to train and escape doping control. Where is the truth? It is also important to note that a whole lot of athletes are trying to make it without drugs. Can we not be cynical and tell them that they have a chance to make it?

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i understand what you mean, i’m a top 10 ranked NCAA D2 athlete. When i look up to the pinnacle of my events i see records held by artifically enhanced people. But i will pursue my training and event as best i can, until i am no longer capable of doing so. If you ask me it’s sad that some athletes feel the way charlie put it that, the records in sports are so high that it’s unacheivable without steroids. All you can ask for is your best. No matter how many years i train for i probably will never top yuri’s hammer record. But i dont have the benefit of living in a communist country that juices me up and has private coaches and facilities for me. I can live with that though. When i become a 2 time NCAA all american next year i know that it was all me, and maybe a little bit of luck.

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hammerthrower I know what you’re talking about…however sometimes I feel like athletes went straight to drugs without first exploiting all the other possibilities…I personnally know the U23 european Champion in hammer. He won the title this year with a throw that would have been worth a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, and I see him training. He is, in terms of throwing technique, very advanced, very sophisticated, but his physical abilities could be greatly improved by smart training other the next few years. He doesn’t use anything banned, that shows that there is probably some room for world class performance and further improvement of standards without drugs. That might not be right for all the specialties, though.