I think that anyone who is an extraordinary outlier will always raise suspicion. So if you're the cream of the cream, you're probably accustomed to that sort of scrutiny. There is probably a small percentage of top performers who use stuff, but I believe that by and large, most masters are honest. Of course, this comes from someone who will never set a USMS record of any sort, unless I happen to live to the age of 120. I'd like to believe that that we are pretty honest in our endeavors. I honestly have to believe that when I lose, it's because other folks just swim faster than I do. Full disclosure: I'm older than dirt, so perhaps the suspicious stuff occurs among younger swimmers.
I've talked to a couple of the people who were "outliers" in my age group. Turns out, they were "outliers" in college, in high school, and as age groupers, too. When I compare what their times are now to when they were in their primes, the difference (by percentage) is pretty damn close to the difference in my current times to when I was in my prime. They were faster then, they are faster now, and PED's almost certainly have never had anything to do with it.
I think that anyone who is an extraordinary outlier will always raise suspicion. So if you're the cream of the cream, you're probably accustomed to that sort of scrutiny. There is probably a small percentage of top performers who use stuff, but I believe that by and large, most masters are honest. Of course, this comes from someone who will never set a USMS record of any sort, unless I happen to live to the age of 120. I'd like to believe that that we are pretty honest in our endeavors. I honestly have to believe that when I lose, it's because other folks just swim faster than I do. Full disclosure: I'm older than dirt, so perhaps the suspicious stuff occurs among younger swimmers.
I've talked to a couple of the people who were "outliers" in my age group. Turns out, they were "outliers" in college, in high school, and as age groupers, too. When I compare what their times are now to when they were in their primes, the difference (by percentage) is pretty damn close to the difference in my current times to when I was in my prime. They were faster then, they are faster now, and PED's almost certainly have never had anything to do with it.
