Doping In Athletics

[Invicituz]

Steve Cram's reaction, "I'm just stunned," after losing his British 1500 metre record to Farah in July of 2013, speaks for itself.

Steve Cram 'stunned' after losing British 1500m record to Mo Farah.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/10192509/Steve-Cram-stunned-after-losing-British-1500m-record-to-Mo-Farah.html

Cram admitted he was shocked that a long-distance runner who only dabbled with the metric mile should have leapt above himself, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett on the all-time UK list. “I’m just stunned,” Cram said.

"it’s been a long time now and I wasn’t expecting it to go in that fashion with a distance runner."

"It makes us look a bit ordinary, doesn’t it? Maybe we should have been a bit better."

"I guess if someone breaks your record you would want it to be a double Olympic champion, but you don’t expect a 10,000 metre runner to break your 1500 metre record."

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Finally

UK Athletics hands over Salazar report

UK Athletics has handed over the full 2015 report into the handling of the Alberto Salazar scandal to UK Anti-Doping following repeated requests.

www.bbc.com

 

[Oldermanish]

Finally

UK Athletics hands over Salazar report

UK Athletics has handed over the full 2015 report into the handling of the Alberto Salazar scandal to UK Anti-Doping following repeated requests.

www.bbc.com

And the governing bodies won't let Semenya compete with naturally occurring hormone anomalies. How ironic will it be if they find most of her co-competitors are actually doping? No shortage of hypocrisy in track.

 

[spalco]

Fastest 400m women's time since 1985 (wtf?) maybe a bit suspicious...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/05/salwa-eid-naser-400m-world-champion-faces-two-year-drugs-ban

eta: what did these eastern european and American women actually take in the 80s btw to get this fast, just steroids? Strange how those treatments were rarely repeated later with newer drugs.

 

[Oldermanish]

Fastest 400m women's time since 1985 (wtf?) maybe a bit suspicious...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/05/salwa-eid-naser-400m-world-champion-faces-two-year-drugs-ban

eta: what did these eastern european and American women actually take in the 80s btw to get this fast, just steroids? Strange how those treatments were rarely repeated later with newer drugs.

Marita Koch's record was a definite rarity...it was very amazing to watch that 400m in Doha along with a few other middle and longer women's races.
The American sprinters have gone back to the steroid well for decades. It's tough to see so many suspended and continue to come back like Justin G.

 

[BlueRoads]

Well, it was not just what they took, but how much of it.

 

[spalco]

Just rewatched that Doha race, wow, what a beautiful, amazing run; by Miller-Uibo too, what style. But I guess in track&fields it's the same as in cycling - if it's too good to be true...

I suppose when you're running/throwing/jumping/whatever on rocket-fuel, it's easier to look good doing it too.

 

[Sciatic]

Fastest 400m women's time since 1985 (wtf?) maybe a bit suspicious...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/05/salwa-eid-naser-400m-world-champion-faces-two-year-drugs-ban

eta: what did these eastern european and American women actually take in the 80s btw to get this fast, just steroids? Strange how those treatments were rarely repeated later with newer drugs.

Someone posted on here a long tine ago the E. German doctors report on the horrendous behavior of the govt-supported sports institutes, which started giving large doses of steroids to girls at 12-13 without their knowledge. Sports “scientists” there discovered that women were even better responders to steroids than men and gave them larger dosages. Extremely sad to read the report’s description of some premiwr athletes still in their teens who were pleading with their coaches/doctors to stop treatments (they eventually figured out what was happening) because of how horrible they felt and the toll it was taking on their bodies and emotions.

 

[BlueRoads]

When I was a child, one of my very favourite athletes was Michael Johnson. I loved watching him, although I was too young to put into words why.
Watching that 400m women's competition brought tears in my eyes, and reminded me of those times. I cannot enjoy it the way I used to, but it was beautiful to watch nonetheless, not just Miller-Uibo, the movements of many in the final were so powerful and limber. It reminded me, what a fascinating discipline the 400m can be.
But yes, the times of childhood and innocence are gone...

 

[Oldermanish]

Someone posted on here a long tine ago the E. German doctors report on the horrendous behavior of the govt-supported sports institutes, which started giving large doses of steroids to girls at 12-13 without their knowledge. Sports “scientists” there discovered that women were even better responders to steroids than men and gave them larger dosages. Extremely sad to read the report’s description of some premiwr athletes still in their teens who were pleading with their coaches/doctors to stop treatments (they eventually figured out what was happening) because of how horrible they felt and the toll it was taking on their bodies and emotions.

The East German "training" included impregnation by coaches followed by forced abortions to enhance natural hormone production as well. Truly monstrous sh*t.
A friend of ours was on the 1976 women's swimming relay team that finished "second" to the E German team. The friend is still a formidable athlete at 5'11" and buff; she was equally good on a bike. When the E German women walked out on the pool deck she and her teammates were shaken by their appearance. They've since met the few survivors of the German team, the others lost to various cancers. The moment had to be extremely emotional knowing what everyone went through to get there. US team received the Gold medal based on the disclosures.
It's surprising there aren't more stories out there like this.
Those that find a warning reminder in this doping situation "preachy" should probably develop a great argument for their cynicism.

 

[Sciatic]

The East German "training" included impregnation by coaches followed by forced abortions to enhance natural hormone production as well. Truly monstrous sh*t.
A friend of ours was on the 1976 women's swimming relay team that finished "second" to the E German team. The friend is still a formidable athlete at 5'11" and buff; she was equally good on a bike. When the E German women walked out on the pool deck she and her teammates were shaken by their appearance. They've since met the few survivors of the German team, the others lost to various cancers. The moment had to be extremely emotional knowing what everyone went through to get there. US team received the Gold medal based on the disclosures.
It's surprising there aren't more stories out there like this.
Those that find a warning reminder in this doping situation "preachy" should probably develop a great argument for their cynicism.

I saw a film that documented that story quite well, was very moving and included recent interviews with former members of both the U.S and East German teams. Cant remember the name of the film though.

 

[BlueRoads]

The stories of doping in Eastern Germany are indeed depressing. An association, the DOH, tries to fight for the victims and for financial "compensation", but the sums are ridiculously low and there are intern quarrels who can be considered a victim.
Apart from the people who acknowledge the have been doped or did dope deliberately I am stunned time and time again by those who deny they have ever doped ... or have been doped. They could express that it was not their choice, but many of the successful athletes insist that they were never part of any doping. They obviously want to keep their memories and the success is part of their self-esteem and self-perception, that's the only explanation I can find.

 

[Nomad]

Someone posted on here a long tine ago the E. German doctors report on the horrendous behavior of the govt-supported sports institutes, which started giving large doses of steroids to girls at 12-13 without their knowledge. Sports “scientists” there discovered that women were even better responders to steroids than men and gave them larger dosages. Extremely sad to read the report’s description of some premiwr athletes still in their teens who were pleading with their coaches/doctors to stop treatments (they eventually figured out what was happening) because of how horrible they felt and the toll it was taking on their bodies and emotions.

Would that be the declassified documents from the East German steroid program from the 60s through 80s?

Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government - PubMed

Several classified documents saved after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990 describe the promotion by the government of the use of drugs, notably androgenic steroids, in high-performance sports (doping). Top-secret doctoral theses, scientific reports, progress reports...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

They were mainly using Oral-Turinabol which produced incredible performance benefits particularly with their female athletes:

"At present anabolic steroids are applied in all Olympic sporting events, with the exception of sailing and gymnastics (female)2 , … and by all national teams. The application takes place according to approved basic plans, in which special situations of individual athletes are also considered. The positive value of anabolic steroids for the development of a top performance is undoubted. Here are a few examples… Performances could be improved with the support of these drugs within four years as follows: Shot-put (men) 2.5–4 m; Shot-put (women) 4.5–5 m; Discus throw (men) 10–12 m; Discus throw (women) 11–20 m; Hammer throw 6–10 m; Javelin throw (women) 8–15 m; 400 m (women) 4–5 sec; 800 m (women) 5–10 sec; 1500 m (women) 7–10 sec… Remarkable rates of increase in performances were also noted in the swimming events of women… . From our experiences made so far it can be concluded that women have the greatest advantage from treatments with anabolic hormones with respect to their performance in sports… . Especially high is the performance-supporting effect following the first administration of anabolic hormones, especially with junior athletes."

Decades later the Russians followed suit incorporating Oral-Turinabol with other substances in their state-sponsored doping program that produced numerous medalists, including some gold medal performances in the 2011 World Championships & the London Olympics (especially with their female athletes). Surprisingly, very few IC positives occurred and it wasn't until several years later on retests that several medalists got popped. Bans & annulments followed and with the damaging McLaren report exposing their state-sponsored program, the Russian doping dynasty crashed & burned. Lol.

 

[Sciatic]

Would that be the declassified documents from the East German steroid program from the 60s through 80s?

Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government - PubMed

Several classified documents saved after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990 describe the promotion by the government of the use of drugs, notably androgenic steroids, in high-performance sports (doping). Top-secret doctoral theses, scientific reports, progress reports...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

They were mainly using Oral-Turinabol which produced incredible performance benefits particularly with their female athletes:

"At present anabolic steroids are applied in all Olympic sporting events, with the exception of sailing and gymnastics (female)2 , … and by all national teams. The application takes place according to approved basic plans, in which special situations of individual athletes are also considered. The positive value of anabolic steroids for the development of a top performance is undoubted. Here are a few examples… Performances could be improved with the support of these drugs within four years as follows: Shot-put (men) 2.5–4 m; Shot-put (women) 4.5–5 m; Discus throw (men) 10–12 m; Discus throw (women) 11–20 m; Hammer throw 6–10 m; Javelin throw (women) 8–15 m; 400 m (women) 4–5 sec; 800 m (women) 5–10 sec; 1500 m (women) 7–10 sec… Remarkable rates of increase in performances were also noted in the swimming events of women… . From our experiences made so far it can be concluded that women have the greatest advantage from treatments with anabolic hormones with respect to their performance in sports… . Especially high is the performance-supporting effect following the first administration of anabolic hormones, especially with junior athletes."

Decades later the Russians followed suit incorporating Oral-Turinabol with other substances in their state-sponsored doping program that produced numerous medalists, including some gold medal performances in the 2011 World Championships & the London Olympics (especially with their female athletes). Surprisingly, very few IC positives occurred and it wasn't until several years later on retests that several medalists got popped. Bans & annulments followed and with the damaging McLaren report exposing their state-sponsored program, the Russian doping dynasty crashed & burned. Lol.

Yes, I believe that was the one. Thanks!

 

[Oldermanish]

I can't recall which former East German rider was asked what was the biggest difference in turning pro (I think he was on an American team, but not sure)? I remember his response: "you won't be forced to take drugs".
The state run program probably ruined a thousand lives doping junior athletes that didn't respond as well and then discarded them. We have some seriously smart people on these forums and I'd wonder if any had statistical data on incidence of cancer and other defects from those generations? It's doubtful it would be something the East German government would be proud of but their meticulous doping documents suggest they could have tracked the consequences as well.

 

[BlueRoads]

I can't recall which former East German rider was asked what was the biggest difference in turning pro (I think he was on an American team, but not sure)? I remember his response: "you won't be forced to take drugs".
The state run program probably ruined a thousand lives doping junior athletes that didn't respond as well and then discarded them. We have some seriously smart people on these forums and I'd wonder if any had statistical data on incidence of cancer and other defects from those generations? It's doubtful it would be something the East German government would be proud of but their meticulous doping documents suggest they could have tracked the consequences as well.

Well, there is research of course, but I think a huge part of the controversies around the doping victims of that era is that there are not many reliable numbers. And the research is still happening. The effects are in many cases only really seen now (for instance a life expectancy of 10-12 years less), some like deformations of the victim's children are discussed, but not fully accepted, yet. And of course there is protection of data privacy, so unless the former athletes themselves have come to claim compensation (was possible until the end of the last year) or come forward in another way, we don't have any right to ask them about their health.

EDIT: regarding the GDR tracking the side effects I don't know, but I doubt they really kept track, I think they were not interested in that side of the matter.

 

[Invicituz]

Naser missed four anti-doping tests

World 400m champion Salwa Eid Naser missed four anti-doping tests rather than the three she claimed, says the Athletics Integrity Unit.

www.bbc.com

 

[Oldermanish]

Naser missed four anti-doping tests

World 400m champion Salwa Eid Naser missed four anti-doping tests rather than the three she claimed, says the Athletics Integrity Unit.

www.bbc.com

Yeah....smells like something not so fresh.

 

[Sciatic]

Yeah....smells like something not so fresh.

I found even stranger her saying that missing 3 tests, which she admits to, is “normal” and something that happens to “everyone”! ☹

 

[masking_agent]

Naser missed four anti-doping tests

World 400m champion Salwa Eid Naser missed four anti-doping tests rather than the three she claimed, says the Athletics Integrity Unit.

www.bbc.com

Nice find. Similar to Serena Williams

 

[Invicituz]

Russian high jumper Shustov receives four-year doping ban

Russian high jumper Alexander Shustov, the 2010 European champion, has received a four-year ban for anti-doping violations, the country's athletics federation said on Monday. Shustov, who retired from competition in 2017, has been suspended until 2024 for "use or attempted use of a banned substance

uk.news.yahoo.com

 

[BlueRoads]

I love these bans of retired athletes.

 

[Oldermanish]

Russian high jumper Shustov receives four-year doping ban

Russian high jumper Alexander Shustov, the 2010 European champion, has received a four-year ban for anti-doping violations, the country's athletics federation said on Monday. Shustov, who retired from competition in 2017, has been suspended until 2024 for "use or attempted use of a banned substance

uk.news.yahoo.com

It would only be more useless if the Russian Federation banned him in an attempt to restore their credibility.

 

[Invicituz]

Asian champion runner banned for 4 years for doping

MONACO (AP) — Asian champion runner Gomathi Marimuthu was banned Friday for four years for doping and stripped of her 800-meter title. The Athletics Integrity Unit said the...

apnews.com

 

[Sciatic]

Asian champion runner banned for 4 years for doping

MONACO (AP) — Asian champion runner Gomathi Marimuthu was banned Friday for four years for doping and stripped of her 800-meter title. The Athletics Integrity Unit said the...

apnews.com

Not sure if I’m reading this correctly—she had 3 positive tests for steroids in the month before the Asian Games, where she also tested positive. How did she think she wouldn’t get caught if she wasn’t managing her glow times while being tested frequently?