American swimmers taking steriods

If my memory serves me correct (since I am lazy to double-check what I post now): 1.) Kicker Vencill used to train up until last year with Erik Vendt in distance freestyle under Mark Schubert, at U.S.C.; 2.) the same 19-Norandro...something -found in Vencill- was what Claudia Poll (Costa Rica) -a 6'3" pretty blond woman, who won individual Olympic medals in 1996 and 2000- tested for one and a half years ago, and was suspended for four years; like Vencill it is now; she claimed that she indavertently got it from a legal supplement and that the testing was sub-par (just like it is done on Vencill's behalf today in www.swiminfo.com), she appealed the suspension to the Arbitration Court in Lausanne, Switzerland, and she lost the appeal; so, she was banned for four years, starting one and a half years ago; like Vencill is going to be from now on, I guess; 3.) I suspect that the rumors about programs in coutries working on illegal H.g.h., E.P.O. and designer drugs, or on the milder legal supplements found in the U.S. and Canada, do explain the astonishing results from the 2000 Sydney Olympics by the Dutch, Italians, U.S. and just about anyone making the Olympic semi-finals and finals; I don't believe that Inge de Bruijn's (Ned.) past rankings and training could have given her a chance at overtaking Jenny Thompson (U.S.) -who was already on legal supplements in 1999 and 2000-; Pieter van den Hoogenband (Ned.), Johan Kenkhuis (Ned.), and many more are unbelievable; the use of H.g.h. by medallist Massi Rossolini (Ita.) has been documented in the year 2000, but the Olympics didn't have then the legal procedure set in place to disqualify someone already documented as taking H.g.h., so Rossolini's medals stand; there is today in the Olympics such a legal procedure for disqualifying people caught on H.g.h.; Ian Thorpe's (Aus.) size 17 feet, might suspiciously look like past use of H.g.h.; 4.) speaking about Angel Meyers' (U.S.) now Angel Martino's ban for four years in 1988 for steroids, in the book 'Choose to Win', Susie O'Neill (Aus.) states that in her opinion the benefits from steroids oulast the four years of punishment; I don't know; 5.) regarding the morality of the reality appearing in 1.), 2.), 3.) and 4.), I think that it is through nutrition that this generation is taller and more athletic than past generations (than Spitz' generation for example), I think that this trend will continue to produce even faster performances, and that following what is legal, is a good arbitrary dividing zone between moral and immoral; what is legal, is defined as what is not on the Olympic list of performance enhancers (like the steroids that are being given to the racing horses) and also what is not a new designer drug -unheard off yet-; 6.) as for punishment for illegal enhancers, there is an Olympic distinction indeed between a steroid (punished by 4 years for Vencill and Poll), and a medication for cold; legal supplements are not punishable in the Olympics; 7.) regarding the question in the opening post, whether one thinks that illegal enhancers like steroids are more spread in the U.S. -including in Masters swimming-, than what has been documented: I don't know; I take the 'Platinum Performance' legal diet supplement bars that was advertized two years ago in many issues of the 'Swim' magazine (similar in purpose to the diet bars named 'Zone' by Barry Sears, or to 'Power' bars), and in competition I take 'GU' for an energy boost -which Paul introduced me to once-.

If my memory serves me correct (since I am lazy to double-check what I post now): 1.) Kicker Vencill used to train up until last year with Erik Vendt in distance freestyle under Mark Schubert, at U.S.C.; 2.) the same 19-Norandro...something -found in Vencill- was what Claudia Poll (Costa Rica) -a 6'3" pretty blond woman, who won individual Olympic medals in 1996 and 2000- tested for one and a half years ago, and was suspended for four years; like Vencill it is now; she claimed that she indavertently got it from a legal supplement and that the testing was sub-par (just like it is done on Vencill's behalf today in www.swiminfo.com), she appealed the suspension to the Arbitration Court in Lausanne, Switzerland, and she lost the appeal; so, she was banned for four years, starting one and a half years ago; like Vencill is going to be from now on, I guess; 3.) I suspect that the rumors about programs in coutries working on illegal H.g.h., E.P.O. and designer drugs, or on the milder legal supplements found in the U.S. and Canada, do explain the astonishing results from the 2000 Sydney Olympics by the Dutch, Italians, U.S. and just about anyone making the Olympic semi-finals and finals; I don't believe that Inge de Bruijn's (Ned.) past rankings and training could have given her a chance at overtaking Jenny Thompson (U.S.) -who was already on legal supplements in 1999 and 2000-; Pieter van den Hoogenband (Ned.), Johan Kenkhuis (Ned.), and many more are unbelievable; the use of H.g.h. by medallist Massi Rossolini (Ita.) has been documented in the year 2000, but the Olympics didn't have then the legal procedure set in place to disqualify someone already documented as taking H.g.h., so Rossolini's medals stand; there is today in the Olympics such a legal procedure for disqualifying people caught on H.g.h.; Ian Thorpe's (Aus.) size 17 feet, might suspiciously look like past use of H.g.h.; 4.) speaking about Angel Meyers' (U.S.) now Angel Martino's ban for four years in 1988 for steroids, in the book 'Choose to Win', Susie O'Neill (Aus.) states that in her opinion the benefits from steroids oulast the four years of punishment; I don't know; 5.) regarding the morality of the reality appearing in 1.), 2.), 3.) and 4.), I think that it is through nutrition that this generation is taller and more athletic than past generations (than Spitz' generation for example), I think that this trend will continue to produce even faster performances, and that following what is legal, is a good arbitrary dividing zone between moral and immoral; what is legal, is defined as what is not on the Olympic list of performance enhancers (like the steroids that are being given to the racing horses) and also what is not a new designer drug -unheard off yet-; 6.) as for punishment for illegal enhancers, there is an Olympic distinction indeed between a steroid (punished by 4 years for Vencill and Poll), and a medication for cold; legal supplements are not punishable in the Olympics; 7.) regarding the question in the opening post, whether one thinks that illegal enhancers like steroids are more spread in the U.S. -including in Masters swimming-, than what has been documented: I don't know; I take the 'Platinum Performance' legal diet supplement bars that was advertized two years ago in many issues of the 'Swim' magazine (similar in purpose to the diet bars named 'Zone' by Barry Sears, or to 'Power' bars), and in competition I take 'GU' for an energy boost -which Paul introduced me to once-.