USADA Bust On Cheating USA Track and Field Athletes

[vaultguru6]

http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/s969023.htm


This makes me ashamed of US Track and Field........if any one has heard any rumors/stories about this then please let us know. They say they won't release names til december, but i'm sure some people know already.......


US athletes snared in massive steroid bust


The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) says "several" American athletes have tested positive for a designer steroid in what it described as the largest drug bust ever in the sport.

"We have strong belief there are international athletes involved as well," USADA Chief Executive Officer Terry Madden said in a teleconference from his offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Madden would not name the athletes whose "A" samples had tested positive for the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) nor the number of athletes involved.

But he said: "I know of no other drug bust that is larger than this, involving the number of athletes we have involved ... certainly in the anabolic steroid area."

The positive samples were found in the retesting of 350 doping tests at June's US championships and 100 later out-of-competition tests, Madden said.

Several positive samples for the stimulant modafinil also were found in the testing, Madden said.

World 100 and 200 metres champion Kelli White of the United States tested positive for the same stimulant at August's world championships and may lose her gold medals as a result.

Madden would not say whether any of the athletes who tested positive for the steroid THG competed in the world championships.

But he noted that all of the athletes with positive tests for the steroid would be subject to a two-year ban and would be ineligible for next year's Olympics if their 'B' samples are also positive.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), as well as the athletes involved, have been notified of USADA's findings, Madden said.

No names are likely to be released until December as the positive tests wind their way through US anti-doping procedures, Madden said.

"What we have uncovered appears to be intentional doping of the worst sort," Madden said in a statement.

"This is a far cry from athletes accidentally testing positive as a result of taking contaminated nutritional supplements. Rather, this is a conspiracy involving chemists, coaches and certain athletes using what they developed to be "undetectable" designer steroids to defraud their fellow competitors and the American and world public who pay to attend sports events."

Madden said USADA first learned of THG when a male, who identified himself as a high-profile coach, called the agency in early June, alleging that certain US and international athletes were using an "undetectable" steroid.

Syringe received

The person subsequently sent USADA a syringe containing a substance that the IOC-accredited laboratory in Los Angeles later identified as a designer steroid, which would have not been detectable in normal laboratory testing.

The Los Angeles laboratory then developed a test for the steroid and in recent days several positive "A" samples results have been reported to USADA.

Madden described a "designer steroid" as one that is tweaked by chemists to make it undetectable under normal testing.

"This is a very sophisticated designer steroid created by very sophisticated chemists," he said.

"The athletes who did take part in this were very sure of themselves in being undetectable because the substance, although the effects would last months, we believe the detection of the steroid in the body would only last a short period of time, just several days ... three to seven days."

The athletes are now entitled to a testing of the 'B' sample and a review by a US anti-doping panel.

The names of the athletes can be released 30 days later in accordance with US Olympic Committee rules, Madden said.

Print Email

[achtungpv]

The more interesting detail came out yesterday when the USOC gave the USATF until mid-November to clean up its program or it's being decertified...basically that means that Olympic athletes wouldn't be chosen through the USATF system...don't know if that affects its affiliation with IAAF.

[rainbowgirl28]

if any one has heard any rumors/stories about this then please let us know. They say they won't release names til december, but i'm sure some people know already.......

Eh we don't need to be naming names or spreading gossip on here unless it is already public. Now if you want to email me all the juicy gossip you know, feel free

[ashcraftpv]

well, it only takes one person to name names for it to become public

so who's got the goods? i hope my name doesn't come up

[zack]

I hope this doesn't surprise anyone. Since Victor Conte's lab was raided by the FDA, IRS and local drug enforcement everyone has been waiting for some kind of announcement. His clients include people from Regina Jacobs to Bill Romanowski to Barry Bonds. The only name reported in the press to have tested positive at USATF Champs is Kevin Toth but hasn't been confirmed. He had the longest throw in the world this year since random out of competition testing began.


Here is the official press release.

USADA STATEMENT

Early in the summer, USADA received a call from a person represented to be a high-profile track and field coach, who provided the names of U.S. and international athletes who he said were using an “undetectableâ€Â

[PVJunkie]

Three letters come to mind.............only because they have been accused for years the big question now is................was it all true?!?!?!
WADA praises U.S.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) praised the U.S. anti-drug chiefs on Thursday for exposing a conspiracy described as the largest drug bust in sport.



Regularly at odds with the Americans over their anti-doping efforts, WADA commended the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the laboratory breakthrough that led to the detection of designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in some athletes' urine samples.

The positive samples were found in the retesting of 350 doping tests at June's U.S. championships.

"We have to wait until the "B" samples are analyzed and proper process completed", said WADA president Dick Pound in a press release.

"But this is a serious warning for cheaters. "It shows that supposedly undetectable substances can be detected as new tests are developed."

While praising U.S. efforts, WADA also expressed concern about what USADA Chief Executive Officer Terry Madden described as "a conspiracy involving chemists, coaches and certain athletes using what they developed to be undetectable designer steroids to defraud their fellow competitors and the American and world public who pay to attend sports events".

Madden would not say whether any of the athletes who tested positive for the steroid THG competed in the recent athletic world championships.

But he noted that all of the athletes with positive tests for the steroid would be subject to a two-year ban and would be ineligible for next year's Olympics if their 'B' samples are also positive.

"This case shows the degree of ingenuity that some cheaters may have developed with the assistance of support personnel in order to intentionally get an unfair advantage", said David Howman, WADA's director general.

"This is exactly why independent agencies such as USADA and WADA have been created and why cooperation is crucial to stay ahead of cheaters. WADA will monitor this case very closely and will be happy to assist in any way.

"We look forward to learning of the outcomes as quickly as possible."

[PVJunkie]

Since we are dishin dirt..................keep an eye on www.eurosport.com they usually have great coverage of track.

Positive results confirmed

Tests on the B samples of American athletes Kelli White and Chris Phillips, who tested positive for Modafinil at the Paris world championships in August, again revealed traces of the stimulant, French sports daily l'Equipe said on Thursday.

ATHLETICS: Chouki cops two-year ban!
PARIS 2003: Jonathan Edwards brings down the curtain!



The newpaper, citing officials at the anti-doping laboratory which conducted the tests in Chatenay-Malabry, near Paris, said tests on the B samples took place earlier this week.

Double world sprint champion White now looks certain to lose both her 100 metres and 200 metres gold medals since the positive test was confirmed.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) had referred the White case to the U.S. anti-doping agency (USADA) who are now expected to hand the case over to the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

White, who tested positive after winning the 100 metres on August 24, said she took the prescribed medication to combat narcolepsy.

Phillips finished sixth in the 110 metres hurdles final.

Modafinil is not yet on the IAAF banned list, but is closely related to other drugs which are.

[achtungpv]

The bigger concern for any athlete involved should be that federal authorities are involved in the investigation and are approaching it as a drug trafficking ring...just by receiving the drugs in the mail, the athlete is guilty of multiple federal felonies...mail fraud...possesssion of illegal substances, etc. The chance of spending time in "federal bang you in the @ss prison" (sorry can't help the Office Space reference) is a lot scarier than a 2-year ban from the sport.

[vaultguru6]

A British Article said up to 20 American athletes have tested positive in their "A" sample for THC. Although we all hope not, anyone think any vaulters are among those possible 20?


Becca probably doesn't want any names thrown around, and thats probably a good idea, but just give your general thoughts on if you think that illegal steroids are currently playing a part in our particular event in the US or even on the world scene.

[zack]

I would doubt any vaulters tested positive although I have heard a name or two of people who were suspected at one time. But honestly I don't think steroids (THG) would help that much in the vault. They would mainly help with speed but even if you gain a couple tenths of a second on the runway it doesn't matter if you don't have good technique to begin with. Of course a lot of elite vaulters already have the technique and are trying to gain more speed. I personally don't suspect any of the top guys right now but track is a very dirty sport.

[lonestar]

Absolutely. I would probably venture to say that probably more than 1/2 of all 5.80+ jumpers in history have used steroids at some point.

I happen to know a few dozen former elites from the 70's and 80's that said EVERYONE was on them. Of course, testing was a lot less common and/or stringent as it is now, but steroids weren't even the limit. I know one former 1970's near-5.50 jumper who was on D-Bol, speed, other steroids, and would smoke weed before competitions to balance out the speed. I've heard stories of how they would smuggle the stuff in from Mexico in the socks of distance runners, because skinny little dudes never got stopped and checked at the border. I've even heard stories of coaches administering the doses by injection in their offices. Granted, that was a long time ago, but we've still had quite a few cases in the last 10 years of people being caught without a lot of publicity, but it was published so it's no secret that KT and SH (both 5.80m+ vaulters were caught, even though it was after SH retired). I also remember a British vaulter being caught a couple years ago for Nandrolone.

Does it help? Of course it helps! The bottom line in getting stronger and faster is recovery - it speeds recovery so the workload can be increased - you get stronger and you can train harder to get faster. It doesn't help your technique, unless your technical problem is due to a physical weakness.

Is it right or wrong? That's up to each of you to decide. Bottom line: it's illegal.

[rainbowgirl28]

If this is as widespread as they are hinting, there are probably going to be a few vaulters involved. Speed makes a big difference in the vault, and some people will do anything to get better.

I don't think it is going to be a ton of vaulters because most vaulters are poor. This designer drug was probably very expensive. Only a handful of vaulters in this country make enough money to blow thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on this. I'd like to think that most would choose not to, but who knows.