Unfortunately it always seems that the positive tests don't seem to come out until AFTER their careers are finished. In the 80s it was still a Cold War thing and positive tests were swept under the carpet. It has only been the last 20 years that American athletes, the really good American athletes not just lower-ranked scapegoats, have started being busted for steroid abuse (or other banned substances). Yet the hysteria and suspicion still lies with the 'unknown' or the evil enemy, namely Russia or China.
Former US Champion Clay banned for doping violations
(Reuters) - Former U.S. 200 meters champion Ramon Clay has been suspended for two years for using steroids and other banned substances from 2000-04, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Friday.
So in recent years from the US, we've had Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Antonio Pettigrew, C.J. Hunter, Tim Montgomery, Kelli White, Jerome Young....
For a full list of doping cases in athletics, visit Wikipedia
Repeated doping violations in the US, and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to catch these cheats, just darkens the legacy of champions like Edwin Moses and Michael Johnson.
At least some sports have recognised major issues with doping, namely weightlifting, and have been prepared to dish out extreme penalties - banning whole nations for repeated positive drug tests. Will we ever see it in athletics for the USA or biathlon for Russia? There's more chance of a man swimming across the Atlantic unaided....Posted byScott Fergusonat21:06
Showing posts with label doping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doping. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Sunday, 3 October 2010
the life of a doping cheat is not a happy one
Sad news over the weekend with shamed British rugby league star Terry Newton taking his own life. Newton was serving a two-year ban for using human growth hormone, HGH. Only last month another high-profile athlete, American track star Antonio Pettigrew, took his own life after being exposed as having used HGH, despite it being back in his prime between 1997 and 2001. High-profile cyclist Marco Pantani took his own life in 2004 after years of allegations and suspensions over blood doping.
Then there's the long list of professional athletes in a variety of sports, including wrestlers, cyclists and former Soviet bloc athletes who have been so screwed up by years of steroid abuse they've either taken their own lives or their hearts have seized.
And of course, there's the famous case of Florence Griffith-Joyner who was never caught failing a dope test, but that was the era when USA Track and Field swept everything under the carpet, and Flo-Jo did wear ridiculous amounts of make-up to hide the fact she was turning into a bloke, and did die in her sleep before the age of 40.
Performance-enhancing drugs do more than cheat other athletes. They screw up lives, and not just in the physical sense.Posted byScott Fergusonat21:17
Then there's the long list of professional athletes in a variety of sports, including wrestlers, cyclists and former Soviet bloc athletes who have been so screwed up by years of steroid abuse they've either taken their own lives or their hearts have seized.
And of course, there's the famous case of Florence Griffith-Joyner who was never caught failing a dope test, but that was the era when USA Track and Field swept everything under the carpet, and Flo-Jo did wear ridiculous amounts of make-up to hide the fact she was turning into a bloke, and did die in her sleep before the age of 40.
Performance-enhancing drugs do more than cheat other athletes. They screw up lives, and not just in the physical sense.Posted byScott Fergusonat21:17
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