Doping among masters athletes

of course this is a problem in USMS ... why would our athletes be any different than masters athletes in cycling ... sadly we have neither a mechanism to report nor a will to intervene

At least this isn't a problem in USMS, right?:rofl: I think everyone has their suspects and while I'd like a clean sport, I doubt we have the resources (financial or people) to police this. This paragraph captures the issue perfectly. Personally, I'm of the mindset of the friend ... Early last November, a friend of Walters insisted that no amateur bike racer would stoop to doping. He couldn’t get past the ‘why,’ Walters says. Since there’s no money, doping to win cheap prizes and sparse cheers was, to his mind, laughable. ... but the realist in me agrees with Walters... But Walters knew better. He’d seen with his own eyes the lengths to which athletes would go to step up a level. He had heard the rationalizations and justifications of dozens of men and women. I derive enough satisfaction from training, the act of competition and using my own performances as a yardstick so the fact there are people doping in USMS (or via FINA Masters) doesn't detract from my own satisfaction. If nothing else, given the potential damage the dopers are doing to their bodies longer term, I figure I'll be well-positioned once I hit the 80+ age groups ;)

I figure I'll be well-positioned once I hit the 80+ age groups ;) fantastic pwd, i'll need someone to race the last 25years then - 80 to 105 i may not remember what pool im at or what city im in, but i'll get on the blocks and go i can name several masters that are swimming faster in their 40s then they did at any point before that. riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

:rofl: I derive enough satisfaction from training, the act of competition and using my own performances as a yardstick so the fact there are people doping in USMS (or via FINA Masters) doesn't detract from my own satisfaction. If nothing else, given the potential damage the dopers are doing to their bodies longer term, I figure I'll be well-positioned once I hit the 80+ age groups ;) I agree with you. I don't really care if masters competitors use PEDs and I think it would be a mistake to try to test. I compete in meets to help motivate me to go to workouts and to push myself in workouts. I have spent my whole life swimming with people who are a lot faster than me and it does not hurt my feelings that there are people who are faster than me now - regardless of how they do it. I know some people have a different view, but it does not bother me. In fact, I was looking forward to having the poster boy for PEDs, Lance Armstrong, in USMS events to show that our organization was inclusive. I understand the reason to exclude him, but it would not bother me to compete in a meet where he swam.

I derive enough satisfaction from training, the act of competition and using my own performances as a yardstick so the fact there are people doping in USMS (or via FINA Masters) doesn't detract from my own satisfaction. If nothing else, given the potential damage the dopers are doing to their bodies longer term, I figure I'll be well-positioned once I hit the 80+ age groups ;) Well said Patrick, and I couldn't agree more. I use swimming as a way to stay in shape. Competitions keep me motivated to train hard, thus keeping me fit. My swimming career started in the open water and the only way to completely accurately gauge one's performance there is placing, due to the fact that courses can change year-to-year and conditions can have a large influence on race times. But in a pool, conditions are much more controlled and I enjoy the aspect of trying to improve my times each time I swim; or at the very least, learning something from every race. For that reason, I'm really enjoying my time in the pool. I love racing the clock far more than any competitor! And, like you, I hope to be racing the clock well into my 80, 90s or 100s!

I derive enough satisfaction from training, the act of competition and using my own performances as a yardstick so the fact there are people doping in USMS (or via FINA Masters) doesn't detract from my own satisfaction. In general I agree, but imagine if you set a new world record but were beaten by someone who admitted to doping. If this happened to me I think I'd be a little pissed off.

I have heard rumors about certain people and I have had my suspicions about certain swimmers. I'd like USMS to do some testing, Maybe test 10% of top finishers at Nats. It is great to swim mostly against yourself,but we don't give medals for most improvement. Lots of swimmers do care about where they rank against other swimmers. For swimmers to rank higher by cheating is not fair. I think most of the cheaters are not doing it for the glory,but are doing it to feel younger and more vital( listen to the ads for testosterone supplements.) I know that when the shiny suits were legal and I was swimming faster I felt younger, and that was without any muscular or cardiovascular improvement. I think it is great to want to be your best,but I don't think it is wrong to want to be the best (or top ten or whatever your competitive goal is.) To be robbed of the opportunity by a cheater is wrong. Testing a few swimmers would not be cost prohibitive and it might make some cheaters think twice.

i am all for testing..provided there are harsh penalties for being caught. 1st offense - banned till after the next masters world championships 2nd offense - make it 2 3rd - lifetime hand me a cup i'll take the test right now

i am all for testing..provided there are harsh penalties for being caught. 1st offense - banned till after the next masters world championships 2nd offense - make it 2 3rd - lifetime hand me a cup i'll take the test right nowAgreed. I am all for testing, but I just imagined that the financial/staff constraints prohibited this.

I'm all for stopping doping but there are a lot of medications masters aged swimmers take for their heart etc. that have no performance enhancing ability but are masking agents. I'd probably have a much smaller list of banned substances. The Americas Masters Games happening this weekend and next week in Vancouver says they are doing random doping: "At least 1 event, heat, and lane will be selected randomly for doping control."