Clara Hughes reveals 1994 doping infraction

[joe_papp]

To put this in its proper context, this is fuller report of the doping infraction.

Canadian Olympic medallist Clara Hughes has acknowledged a doping infraction early in her international cycling career.With a memoir due out Sept. 8, Hughes granted her first interview to CBC News, telling The National's Adrienne Arsenault that she could have taken the secret to her grave.

Instead, Hughes decided to risk harsh public judgement and open up about the 1994 incident.

Clara is one of the most honest people I know. The cynics in the Clinic will crucify her but that's all they know how to do!

21 years later... Yeah, sounds like you don't know many honest people.

I'm honest. I am going to open up about my positive test from 20 years ago, a short time before my book is released. I assure you the confession and book release are completely unrelated events.

d'oh. torpedoed that...

 

[joe_papp]

Re:

An unsurprising response from the Clinic, focusing on the wrong side of the story.

First, 1994 was a long time ago. It was a lot easier to use a product containing something like ephedrine without realising it...

OK Levi...

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Re: Re:

An unsurprising response from the Clinic, focusing on the wrong side of the story.

First, 1994 was a long time ago. It was a lot easier to use a product containing something like ephedrine without realising it...

OK Levi...

Good catch.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Probably not clean as skater also.
But then again, not half as badly doped as the entire Dutch speed skating scene.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Re:

Did everyone just gloss over the fact that this is something that Clara is revealing in her *autobiography*? As in, it would have stayed well buried and hidden unless she herself brought it up?

John Swanson

No. If you had bothered to read the thread you'd see that nobody has glossed over that very remote possibility you claim to be a "fact".

 

[Neworld]

Some Digging to do.

I have known Clara in Ontario and Alberta and although she has tremendous exemplary qualities, and is a fellow Canadian...

Things for you to look up.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mazurcoachingcom/110326979027943?fref=photo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirek_Mazur (interesting facts Re: his son...)

Team Saturn with Dede, Dede and Mike Barry
- http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/interviews/mike-dede-part-2-the-pez-interview/
- http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=4417 (MB leaves for clean USP)
- don't forget Danielson and Horner on Saturn...oops and there is Mr. Clean- Robbie Ventura

- 2000 Saturn Cycling Team Roster
Women:
Lyne Bessette (Canada)
Dede Demet (Boulder, CO)
Julie Hanson (Boulder, CO)
Clara Hughes (Canada)
Susy Pryde (New Zealand)
Nicole Reinhart (Toppend, PA)
Emily Robbins (Littleton, CO)
Petra Rossner (Germany)
Anna Wilson (Australia)

Men:
Michael Barry (Canada)
Bart Bowen (Albuquerque, NM)
Antonio Cruz (Long Beach, CA)
Harm Jansen (Holland)
Trent Klasna (USA)
Frank McCormack (Leicester, MA)
Mark McCormack (North Easton, MA)
Seth Pelusi (DeSoto, Texas)
Robbie Ventura (Gurnee, IL)
Brian Walton, (Canada)
Chris Wherry (Boulder, CO)

There's more just dig.

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Who?

Some Canadian nobody doper trying to spin a story.

Six Olympic medals across two disciplines (cycling and speed-skating) and she's a nobody? Wow, you have high standards...

John Swanson

Winter Olympics medals? They just hand them out when you turn up don't they?

 

[bewildered]

Don't really know too much about her but this woman appears to have had success in sport through doping and lying and is now looking to increase sales of her book and make money from the same doping and lying. Why are people calling her honest again?

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Re:

Don't really know too much about her but this woman appears to have had success in sport through doping and lying and is now looking to increase sales of her book and make money from the same doping and lying. Why are people calling her honest again?

Only the ex-lawyer is calling her honest.

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Re: Re:

Who?

Some Canadian nobody doper trying to spin a story.

Six Olympic medals across two disciplines (cycling and speed-skating) and she's a nobody? Wow, you have high standards...

John Swanson

Winter Olympics medals? They just hand them out when you turn up don't they?

Her bronze medals in the Road and Time Trial were in the *Winter* Olympics? That's news. And holy condescension... Wow.

John Swanson

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Who?

Some Canadian nobody doper trying to spin a story.

Six Olympic medals across two disciplines (cycling and speed-skating) and she's a nobody? Wow, you have high standards...

John Swanson

Winter Olympics medals? They just hand them out when you turn up don't they?

Her bronze medals in the Road and Time Trial were in the *Winter* Olympics? That's news. And holy condescension... Wow.

John Swanson

If you're not first you're last.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

You're really ignorant aren't you?

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

You're really ignorant aren't you?

You should probably quote someone so it's clear who you are talking to, I'm assuming you mean me?

 

[D-Queued]

...

Clara is one of the most honest people I know. The cynics in the Clinic will crucify her but that's all they know how to do!

I'm not sure why I have just had this strange sensation that someone, somewhere owes me an apology.

And, I'm not talking about Clara. Nor trying to crucify her at all. I'm not even about Sara Hughes, whoever she may be, as someone may have referred to her in another recent post in another thread.

Just saying.

...

A top clean athlete would be Sara Hughes of Canada... there are a slew of them out there.

...

But, before we go and declare who is absolutely clean we should consider the degree of success and the contamination in the environment. No matter who it is, the environment cannot be given a clean bill of health.

The unfortunate and uncomfortable truth is that there probably isn't a slew of them out there with those kind of palmares. Not even if they are Canadian. Ahem.

Dave.

 

[scottymontrose]

"oops and there is Mr. Clean- Robbie Ventura"

Oh man, that made my day! And has anyone ever seen him take a pull? Ever?

 

[the delgados]

I don't remember the year, but Clara thoroughly beat admitted ped specialist Genvieve Jeanson at the national TT championships not long before the 2003 fiasco. Not the same year, but close, if memory serves.
Also, I've heard a lot of stories about Clara's coach. I spent some time with him years ago and will vouch for Clara's claim that he is not a nice person. I briefly met Clara years ago and she did not seem like a happy person at the time. Doping aspects aside (true or not), I'm glad she's doing well.

 

[D-Queued]

Re:

I don't remember the year, but Clara thoroughly beat admitted ped specialist Genvieve Jeanson at the national TT championships not long before the 2003 fiasco. Not the same year, but close, if memory serves.
Also, I've heard a lot of stories about Clara's coach. I spent some time with him years ago and will vouch for Clara's claim that he is not a nice person. I briefly met Clara years ago and she did not seem like a happy person at the time. Doping aspects aside (true or not), I'm glad she's doing well.

The year was 2000.

Dave.

 

[Fortyninefourteen]

Re:

I was riding to work this morning and saw Clara on the front of the local newspaper. I said to myself, "WTF?" and then checked in here at the Clinic. I didn't know that she had a book coming out. The amount of free publicity that she is getting from this admission is mind-boggling. This will be the top palmare of her press agent.

She handed out the awards at the North American Masters Cycling Championships back when she lived in Sutton. She struck me as a nice person so I'll be curious to see what's left of her reputation when the dust finally settles.

All proceeds are going to mental health related causes, She takes nothing much to the dismay of some here....

 

[Neworld]

Re: Re:

I was riding to work this morning and saw Clara on the front of the local newspaper. I said to myself, "WTF?" and then checked in here at the Clinic. I didn't know that she had a book coming out. The amount of free publicity that she is getting from this admission is mind-boggling. This will be the top palmare of her press agent.

She handed out the awards at the North American Masters Cycling Championships back when she lived in Sutton. She struck me as a nice person so I'll be curious to see what's left of her reputation when the dust finally settles.

All proceeds are going to mental health related causes, She takes nothing much to the dismay of some here....

Hey, I like Clara as much as anyone, her overall benign nature, all she does for mental health and general giving nature. She really does have a lot to offer and has some remarkably unselfish activities in her life. And, she certainly isn't a psychopath like Voldemort but for years I slammed liars and cheaters, who cheated the clean so I feel I have to be consistent. It sure looks Clara was knee deep in troublesome waters and only now is regretting some minor, solitary, event.

Her affinity with:
- the likes of Mike Barry who only came clean when he had too, after he milked the cow being a pseudo journalist
- her vapid comments about Mike's dirty doping and narcotic use at SKY is suspicious
- Dede and Mike when their careers seemed to ascend, especially Dede who was washed up and then suddenly went on to beat everyone
- her ex coach, some who parallel his coaching career as the Canadian version of the Polish-American Eddy B...
...just saying, that there are some incriminating factors despite my desire to protect a fellow Canadian. Deep down I feel she is a good person, but we're in the 'Clinic' .

 

[the delgados]

"This will be the top palmare of her press agent."

I could not agree with you more. Clearly this was a calculated measure to elicit sympathy and understanding.
No one could write a book about cycling without addressing doping. The spiked water bottle theory seems to me a good way to address the issue without admitting any knowledge about what takes place.
It's just pablum for the masses who, for the most part, know nothing about the inner workings of the sport.

 

[D-Queued]

Re: Re:

...

Hey, I like Clara as much as anyone, her overall benign nature, all she does for mental health and general giving nature. She really does have a lot to offer and has some remarkably unselfish activities in her life. And, she certainly isn't a psychopath like Voldemort but for years I slammed liars and cheaters, who cheated the clean so I feel I have to be consistent. It sure looks Clara was knee deep in troublesome waters and only now is regretting some minor, solitary, event.

Her affinity with:
- the likes of Mike Barry who only came clean when he had too, after he milked the cow being a pseudo journalist
- her vapid comments about Mike's dirty doping and narcotic use at SKY is suspicious
- Dede and Mike when their careers seemed to ascend, especially Dede who was washed up and then suddenly went on to beat everyone
- her ex coach, some who parallel his coaching career as the Canadian version of the Polish-American Eddy B...
...just saying, that there are some incriminating factors despite my desire to protect a fellow Canadian. Deep down I feel she is a good person, but we're in the 'Clinic' .

Doped or not is not my particular issue.

This news comes as not a surprise.

The biggest issue(s) is/are related to Michael and Dede, and what appeared to have been poor judgement on her part to defend Michael at the time. Now we have double 20/20 hindsight (20/10?) with both Michael's doping past being illuminated as well as her own.

All of which only goes to further prove that anyone that is over-vociferous in their denials is lying.

Another issue, and one that you did not mention, is that there must have been quite a few people that knew about this positive test. Those originally involved at Cycling Canada, for example, and then all of their successors. They have successfully bottled this up for over 20 years.

How many more dopers have been exposed under previous administrations, yet are now being shielded by a more current administration?

The transparency is very low on this one.

Dave.

 

[the delgados]

DQ:
Please forgive me for this dumb question, but wasn't the test conducted by an outside agency?
If so, why weren't the results reported to anyone other than Cycling Canada?

 

[ScienceIsCool]

Re: Re:

...

Hey, I like Clara as much as anyone, her overall benign nature, all she does for mental health and general giving nature. She really does have a lot to offer and has some remarkably unselfish activities in her life. And, she certainly isn't a psychopath like Voldemort but for years I slammed liars and cheaters, who cheated the clean so I feel I have to be consistent. It sure looks Clara was knee deep in troublesome waters and only now is regretting some minor, solitary, event.

Her affinity with:
- the likes of Mike Barry who only came clean when he had too, after he milked the cow being a pseudo journalist
- her vapid comments about Mike's dirty doping and narcotic use at SKY is suspicious
- Dede and Mike when their careers seemed to ascend, especially Dede who was washed up and then suddenly went on to beat everyone
- her ex coach, some who parallel his coaching career as the Canadian version of the Polish-American Eddy B...
...just saying, that there are some incriminating factors despite my desire to protect a fellow Canadian. Deep down I feel she is a good person, but we're in the 'Clinic' .

Doped or not is not my particular issue.

This news comes as not a surprise.

The biggest issue(s) is/are related to Michael and Dede, and what appeared to have been poor judgement on her part to defend Michael at the time. Now we have double 20/20 hindsight (20/10?) with both Michael's doping past being illuminated as well as her own.

All of which only goes to further prove that anyone that is over-vociferous in their denials is lying.

Another issue, and one that you did not mention, is that there must have been quite a few people that knew about this positive test. Those originally involved at Cycling Canada, for example, and then all of their successors. They have successfully bottled this up for over 20 years.

How many more dopers have been exposed under previous administrations, yet are now being shielded by a more current administration?

The transparency is very low on this one.

Dave.

She's been friends with Michael and Dede for a long time. I have no idea when she learned they were dopers, but I just can't see it in her nature to dump them as friends. Any feelings she has on the matter have been kept between her and the Barry's. I really don't think it speaks to her cycling career or whether she intentionally doped.

Things are obviously much different now, but I wonder what else Cycling Canada kept quiet from the early 90's to the mid 2000's. Of course, ephedrine really wasn't that "big of a deal" 20-30 years ago. In a stage race you were just as likely to get a time penalty as you were a 3 month vacation (re: Tackaert) for something relatively benign like caffeine or ephedrine. So maybe it wasn't so much kept quiet as received a shrug of the shoulders.

John Swanson

 

[blutto]

....funny about spiked water bottles eh....sometimes they are put forth as proof positive of guilt and other times proof positive of the purest of intentions....its all context ain't it....who says what about whom and why....

Cheers

 

[DirtyWorks]

Re: Re:

How many more dopers have been exposed under previous administrations, yet are now being shielded by a more current administration?

The transparency is very low on this one.

Dave.

This really. The IOC sports gave up a teeeny, tiny bit of their autonomy by setting up WADA, testing, and then publishing some numbers. But, right now, positives can and do remain out of sight.

I too cannot criticize Ms. Hughes for her choices after her cycling career. But, now we know for sure she was using.